Love Slipped In
by polar1908
Summary: Danny is attracted to a woman he met while investigating a case. Warning: Break up of Danny and Lindsay. If you can't stand it, don't read this.
1. Meet Mrs Dobrev

"Hey Don!"

Detective Don Flack turned and saw Danny Messer walking down the corridor towards him. In his hand, he was waving a sheet of paper.

"Hey Danno." Every time Flack saw him, he felt grateful to see his buddy walking on his own two feet. No long ago, Danny was sitting in a wheelchair, unable to walk. Flack hoped that he would never see that sight again.

"Got a hit," Danny continued. "The fingerprints on the glass. Came back to a Johnny Dobrev. Plumber." He handed the paper to Flack.

Flack read the address on the printout. "Want to go for a ride?" he asked.

Half an hour later, Flack was knocking on the door of an apartment building. Danny looked around him. The floor was covered in aging wooden planks that creaked a little as they walked on it. The walls probably had not been painted since the building was built, evident by all the discoloration and the hand prints left behind by current and previous residents. It looked like the kind of place he lived in. _Well, used to live in_, he corrected himself. After he married Lindsay, they moved into a place big enough to accommodate a family of three.

Danny heard the door opened. He turned and saw a woman looking at them. She was of slender built, a little on the thin side. Her long blonde hair was neatly tied up in a ponytail. _She's probably a few years younger than me_, Danny thought.

"Does Johnny Dobrev live here?" Flack asked.

"He's not here," and she moved to close door.

"Hey, wait," Danny put out his hand to hold the door open. With his other hand, he held up his badge. "We're the police."

She looked at him. Danny was stunned by the sadness and fear deep in her eyes but her face gave no hint of her feelings.

Behind him, Flack said "We would like to ask you a few questions about Johnny. May we come in?"

Still displaying no emotions on her face, she opened the door and stood aside to let them in. Stepping in, Danny noticed that everything was clean and tidy. Even though the furniture was old and a little broken, Danny could see areas where it was lovingly patched up. Some handmade cushions and a vase of flowers brightened up the modest room transformed it into a home.

"Can I get you anything?" she was asking them in a voice that was as expressive as her face.

"It's okay," Flack answered. "We won't be staying long. Just a few questions." Flack took out his notebook. "How do we address you?"

She wordlessly sat down and looked down at her hands. "I'm Johnny's wife."

"Okay, Mrs Dobrev, when will your husband be home?" Flack asked.

Mrs Dobrev tugged at the sleeve of her sweater. "Johnny hasn't been home for a few days," she replied hesitantly.

Flack raised his eyebrows. "In that case, where can we find your husband?" was his next question.

"I don't know. Johnny doesn't like it when I ask him about where he goes. He... He has a temper." Her voice dropped to almost a whisper.

Years on the force had taught Danny enough for him to recognize the signs. _This woman has an abusive husband_, he thought. He glanced over at Flack and from the look on his friend's face, he knew Flack recognized it too.

"What about his workplace?" Danny asked.

"Delta Plumbing. I'm sorry, I only know the name of the company."

"It's okay, it will be easy for us to find out the address," Danny assured her.

"One last question, do you recognize this man?" Flack handed her a photo of the murder victim.

She studied the photo and shook her head. "I'm sorry I don't find him familiar."

"I see. Thank you for your time, Mrs Dobrev," Flack replied and turned to leave. But Danny hung back.

"Mrs Dobrev?"

"Yes?"

Danny plunged right in. "Listen, if your husband is giving you trouble, there are people who can help."

She stood up. "What are you implying?" she replied stiffly.

"Look, you don't have to bear this alone. If your husband is mistreating you, there are places you can seek help."

She gave him a stony gaze. "I think you should leave."

"But..."

"Please go." She turned her back towards Danny.

Danny looked at Flack who gave him a helpless shrug. "Let's go," Flack said. Then in a louder voice, he said, "Thank you Mrs Dobrev. We'll show ourselves out."

Danny looked at Mrs Dobrev's back. Then he took out his namecard and put it down on the coffee table. "Mrs Dobrev," he began awkwardly, "If you need any help, feel free to give my number a call."

There was no reaction from her, it was as if she did not hear him. When Danny turned back to close the door behind him, he saw her still standing there as if she had froze to the spot. He gently closed the door.

"A man of words, aren't you?" Flack commented when the door was closed.

"Look, you've seen her. You recognized those signs. We can't just stand by and do nothing." Danny was frustrated.

"You can't save everyone, Danny." Flack tried to pacify his friend. "We can only help if they let us."

Danny did not reply. In his heart, he knew Flack was right but he still felt that he had to do something to help her. He couldn't let this one go, something should be done to help her get out of this unhappy marriage.

Once outside, Danny took out his mobile and called the lab. "Hey Adam, can you check up the address of this Delta Plumbing? I'll hold." In the background, he could hear Adam typing away. In a moment, he had the answer. Danny signaled to Flack to pass him the notebook. "Yes? Yes, got it." He scribbled the address down in the notebook and handed it back to Flack. "Let's pay a visit to the plumbers."


	2. Finding Johnny

At Delta Plumbing, Danny and Flack met the manager. "Johnny Dobrev?" the manager repeated. "That man's a good plumber but he's a load of problems. Shows up for work late, shows up for work drunk, shows up for work late _AND_ drunk." He ticked off the complaints one by one.

"Okay, we get the point," Danny cut in. "We just want to know when he will be reporting for work."

"Oh, didn't I tell you?" The manager seemed surprised. "I fired him last week. He was so angry when I told him, I thought he was going to kill me."

"Alright, thanks," Danny was dejected that the trail had led to a dead end.

Flack tried to comfort his friend. "Don't give up, maybe one of his co-workers might know his whereabouts."

"Won't hurt to try," Danny agreed.

The second plumber they talked to, Adrian Benton, remembered hearing Johnny mentioned a girlfriend. "Thinks he's a real stud. He was boasting about how his girlfriend can't get enough of him."

"Ya, I'm sure," Flack replied. "Any idea where his girlfriend lives?"

"He said she stays in Queens. I think her name is Maggie."

"Anything else you can tell us about her?"

"I don't think so... Oh wait, Johnny ever mentioned that she works as a waitress. I think she could be a blonde."

"How did you figure that out?" Danny was curious.

"Something Johnny said," the plumber frowned as he tried to remember. "He said that blondes make him hard."

"Enlightening conversations you guys have," Flack couldn't resist making a snide remark about it. He thanked the plumber and dismissed him.

Another hour of questioning did not yield any additional information. The rest of the staff echoed what Adrian had said. It seemed that Johnny was only interested in sex, women and football. Nobody really knew where he lived or the places he frequented. All knew that he had a violent temper and thought of himself as God's gift to women. _A real nice guy_, Danny thought.

"Looks like a dead end here," Flack sighed.

"Maybe not," Danny replied. He had an idea. "Let me go back to the lab and run a search. Maybe I will be able to find something."

"Good luck," Flack said as he bid Danny goodbye.

Back in the lab, Danny did a search in the database. He remembered what the plumbers said about Johnny's girlfriend and narrowed the results down to blonde women staying in Queens who also worked as a waitress. The search came back with 50 hits. _Too many_, Danny thought and narrowed the age to women below forties. It reduced the results to 35 names. _Still too many_, Danny thought. _I need more information._ Then he remembered that Adrian said her name could be Maggie. Danny eagerly keyed in the name. And got no results. "What?" Danny stared at the monitor screen and cursed.

"Danny, what's wrong?" Stella peeked into the room. "I was walking past when I heard you cursing," she explained.

"Oh Stella," Danny was embarrassed that she heard his outburst. "It's nothing. I was just frustrated with getting no results for the search."

Stella came and stood beside Danny. "Show me what you did."

Danny took her through the steps. "And when I keyed in the name... Boom! There's nothing here."

"Let me see," Stella pondered. "Maggie might be short for Margaret." She typed it in. This time the search came back with three results.

"Of course! Why didn't I think of that?" Danny exclaimed.

Stella smiled. "You're welcome."

After Stella walked away, Danny excitedly called Flack and arranged to meet him at the home of one of the women. By luck, the first apartment Danny picked turned out to be the right one. The blonde who answered the door admitted that she was Johnny Dobrev's girlfriend.

"Do you know where Johnny is?" Flack asked.

She indicated inside the apartment with a tilt of her head. Danny and Flack entered to find Johnny sitting in front of the TV, dressed only in his boxer shorts.

"Johnny Dobrev?" Flack asked.

"What? Who are you?" Johnny jumped to his feet and scowled at them.

Danny looked at him. Johnny was a tall man with broad shoulders and close cropped hair. He had a face that could be handsome except it was marred by his cruel lips and an angry scowl.

"Police." Flack held out his badge. "We would like to ask you a few questions."

"What about?" Johnny looked at them suspiciously.

"Do you know this man?" Flack held out a photo of the dead man.

Johnny barely glanced at the photo. "No. Now quit wasting my time."

"Hey! Take a good look at this guy." Danny stepped forward. "Your prints were found in his home and if you can't give a good explanation, you will be spending some quality time in a jail cell."

"Perhaps Johnny here would prefer give his statement down at the station," Flack added.

Johnny scowled at the both of them and snatched the photo from Flack's hand. He looked at the man in the photo carefully and Danny saw a flash of recognition in his eyes. "Ya, I did some plumbing job for the guy yesterday. It was a hot day and I asked him for a glass of water." Johnny replied.

"And you left after that?" Flack asked.

"What do you think? I am not interested in guys." Johnny smirked. "Look here, if the guy is complaining that I did a lousy job or I pinched his stuff, then he's a bloody liar. You better tell him to watch out or I'll–"

"Or you will what? Beat him up like you beat your wife?" Danny countered.

Johnny glared at him. "None of your business," he snarled. "She's my wife and I'll treat her any way I want to!"

"You mean like slapping her around when you had a bad day? Or punching her when you can't get it up? And then what do you do? Reward yourself with a beer and have sex with your girlfriend here?"

A cruel smile appeared on Johnny's face. "Sure I hit her around but Jackie likes it that way. She likes it rough. You should hear how she begs for me."

"Scum! Don't you dare lay a finger on her," Danny shouted.

"What's it to you? You've got the hots for her?" Johnny sneered at him. He moved menacingly towards Danny.

"Okay boys, break it up," Flack stepped between them. He took Danny by the shoulders and turned him around so that the CSI was facing the door. "Go," he told Danny. "Wait for me outside."

Danny went quietly. He knew he had let his feelings got the better of him. He should not have lost his temper no matter unpleasant Johnny was; no matter that a poor woman in another part of New York was waiting in fear for her husband to return home. Danny rubbed his forehead with his fist. _Dammit!_ He screwed up. Now Flack had to finish up the interview alone.

Danny waited for Flack outside the apartment. In a few minutes, Flack came out. Danny immediately apologized, "Hey, I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have said that. I've let you down."

Flack did not say a word until they had left the building. Then he scolded Danny. "What's the matter with you? You totally lost control back there!"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said those things."

"Damn right you are!" Flack was very angry. "You have disgraced the badge that you wear."

Danny winced. Coming from a line of policemen, Danny took pride in wearing the badge and Flack's words had hit him where it hurt most. Yet with hurt came anger, and Danny fought back. "We know how he treated her! We can't just let him go scoot free and torment her again!"

"That's not our call," Flack replied. A wave of tiredness passed over the detective's face. "Look Danny, I know you feel sorry for Mrs Dobrev but there's not much we can do to help." Seeing the look on Danny's face, he continued. "However I promised you that when I get back to the station, I'll pass this on to someone who can help."

"Thanks." It's wasn't much help but Danny couldn't ask for more. He knew that Flack was going out of his way to help Mrs Dobrev on his account.

Nothing more was said about the incident and they drove back in awkward silence. Flack dropped Danny off at lab. "Hey, go back and get some sleep okay?" Flack told Danny.

"Ya, sure." Danny waved goodbye to Flack.


	3. A Slice of Pizza

Back in the lab, Danny went to work on some black specks found on the victim's clothing. He was running the specks though some tests when Lindsay dropped in.

"Hey Danny," she came up to him. "I'm going home. Are you done?"

"Um no," Danny replied. "You go home first. I still have some work left to do. Don't wait up for me, I might have to work late. Give Lucy a goodnight kiss on my behalf."

"Okay, don't tire yourself out." Lindsay kissed him on the cheek and left.

Alone in the lab, Danny continued with his tests. While waiting for the results, his mind drifted to the events that happened earlier that day. He thought of Johnny Dobrev. _That guy's a scumbag_, Danny thought, _he should be locked up so he cannot continue to hurt other people_. A wave of anger rose up inside Danny as he pictured Johnny's sneering face. Danny wanted very much to punch that face until it was a bloody mess, inflicting as much pain as possible in the process. Then Danny caught sight of his fists, clenched so tightly that the knuckles had turned white. That sight brought him back to reality and he loudly exhaled, trying to calm himself down.

_Why am I so agitated?_ Danny wondered. Sure, Johnny Dobrev was a scumbag but he was just one of the many scumbags Danny had encountered during his work. He had dealt with them before; he knew what they were like and he had never lost control of himself so totally. _So why is this different?_ Almost immediately he knew the answer but he did not want to admit it. He wrestled with the truth in his heart for a few minutes before finally succumbing. _It was different because of her. Because of Mrs Dobrev._

Danny thought of her. His last sight of her was of her back just before he closed the door of her apartment. The late afternoon sun shone through the window and its light hit her blonde hair, creating a warm aureola around her. He thought of how she had looked at him. There was no expression on her face but her eyes betrayed her feelings. He remembered those eyes, expressive and yet guarded. Beautiful eyes.

"Damn!" Danny hit the table in frustration. He could not work like this, not when images of her kept appearing in his mind every minute. "I need to get out of here," Danny muttered. He removed his lab coat and left the building.

An hour later, Danny was outside a building he had visited earlier in the day. He entered the building and got into the elevator with an elderly lady. Much to Danny's amusement, he noticed the old lady studying him.

Finally she asked "Excuse me, are you friends with Mrs Dobrev? I saw you left her apartment earlier today."

"You can say that," Danny smiled at her. He did not want her to know that he's a cop.

The old lady smiled warmly. "Mrs Dobrev is such nice person. She helps me out a lot. I have a bad leg, you see." She indicated the cane she was holding. "She often comes to check on me, to see if I need any help. Not many young people nowadays will bother themselves with us old folks."

Danny decided to ask a question. "Do you know her husband?"

The old lady's face clouded. "He's a bad one," she said. "When he's home, I can hear him shouting and her crying. But whenever I asked her about it, she would always say that she's alright. I don't understand, how did a nice lady like her end up with him?"

_That makes two of us_, Danny thought.

When the elevator reached their floor, Danny helped the old lady to her door before continuing down the corridor to the Dobrevs' apartment. Outside the door, Danny hesitated. After what happened earlier, he doubted that she would be happy to see him.

Danny knocked on the door. "Just a minute," he heard her called from inside the apartment and a moment later she opened the door. Danny was glad to see her but judging from the expression on her face, the feeling wasn't mutual.

"What do you want?" she asked. Danny noted that her tone wasn't unfriendly which gave him a bit of hope.

"I came to see how are you doing. May I come in? I brought pizza." Danny used his most charming smile.

It seemed to work. Her demeanor thawed a little and she gave him a faint smile. Danny liked that smile. It brightened up her pale face and gave him a glimpse of the person she was before marrying that man.

"That's nice of you," she replied. "But I can't accept this."

"Don't say no. Refusing a pizza from Lombardi's is a crime."

"The pizza is from Lombardi's?" Danny could see her resolve wavering.

"Please?" Danny looked at her pleadingly.

"Okay, come on in," she smiled and stood aside for him to enter. Danny sat down at the dining table and Mrs Dobrev brought some plates.

"Thank you, Detective Messer," she said as she sat down.

With a start Danny realized that the only way she could have known his name was to read the name card he left behind. _She read the card; she didn't throw it away_, he thought happily. Danny cleared his throat, "Um, just call me Danny."

"Jacqueline" She looked at him. "I assume this isn't a social visit?"

"I'm off work," Danny smiled. "So this _IS_ a social visit."

"Why? Why spend time with a stranger?"

Danny answered honestly, "Because I am worried about you."

She was surprised by his answer. "Why? Because you think my husband mistreats me?" She gave a wan smile and unconsciously began tugging at the sleeve of her sweater again.

Danny laid his hand on her arm and gently pulled up the sleeve of her sweater, revealing ugly bruises that covered her fair skin.

"Nobody wears sweaters in summer," Danny said softly.

The color drained from her face but she said nothing. With her free hand, she pulled the sleeve back down so that it covered the bruises.

Danny raised his hand and she instinctively flinched at the movement. He knew what that reaction meant. Few years ago, Adam had taught him to recognize the instinctual flinch that was characteristic of a victim of longtime physical abuse. Danny gently brushed away a lock of her blonde hair and touched a light scar on her left temple with his fingertips.

"He beat you." It was a statement, not a question.

She turned her head away but not before Danny saw the tears in her eyes. "I don't need your pity," she said.

Danny reached out with his right hand and cupped her face. He turned her head so that he was looking straight into those beautiful, sad eyes of hers. "I'm not here because I pity you. I'm here because I want to protect you," he told her.

They stared into each other's eyes and unconsciously they started to lean closer until their lips were almost touching. At the last second, Jacqueline pulled away and stood up abruptly.

"I should go and clean myself up," she said.

She quickly left the room, leaving Danny sitting at the table. Danny sighed and mentally kicked himself. What had gotten into him? Did he try to kiss her? He smiled wryly as he thought of what Flack would have said about his lack of self-control. _This seems to be the recurring theme of the day_, he thought.

When Jacqueline came back after washing her face, Danny had already placed a slice of pizza on her plate. They looked at each other awkwardly for a moment. Then Danny casually indicated the pizza on her plate.

"Pizza's getting cold," he smiled, looking more at ease than he felt.

Jacqueline sat down and sniffed the pizza. "Smells yummy," she said and took a bite.

They talked as they ate. By some unspoken agreement, they steered clear about what happened earlier and stayed on safe topics. They chatted about which restaurant had the best pizza, their favorite movies and their favorite hang outs in Big Apple. Danny learned that she was also a fan of Lombardi's pizzas; that she loved dogs and hated eggplant. By the time dinner ended, the awkwardness had disappeared and Danny felt as if they had known each other all their lives.

Danny offered to help with the washing up but Jacqueline wouldn't hear of it. "It's late," she said as she gently pushed him to the door.

At the doorstep, Danny turned and said, "Alright, I'll leave now. But tomorrow _I'LL_ do the washing up."

Jacqueline smiled. "We'll see about that," she replied.

When Danny reached the elevator, he turned back. Jacqueline was still standing by the door watching him. Danny waved goodbye and gave her one last lingering look before the lift doors closed.


	4. Poppies Warehouse

Danny looked at the printout from the computer.

"What's the result?" Adam peered over his shoulder.

"Poppy seeds," Danny replied.

"Maybe the killer is a baker," Adam suggested. He mused. "I once knew a girl who would eat nothing but lemon poppy seed muffins for lunch. She always smells so citrusy." Adam had a dreamy look in his eyes.

"Who smells citrusy?" Mac stepped into the lab.

"Um... um..." As always, Adam was intimidated by Mac's presence. "A girl I knew. She likes lemon poppy seed muffins."

Mac raised his eyebrows and looked at both of them. Danny came to Adam's rescue.

"Mac, I did some tests on the black specks found on the vic's clothing. They turned out to be poppy seeds."

"Poppy seeds?" Mac mused over Danny's findings. "What about you, Adam?"

"Um, I analyzed the powdery substance found on the sleeve of his shirt." Adam turned the monitor so that Mac could see the screen. Shown on a display was a line graph with three distinct peaks. Adam continued, pointing at the three peaks. "There are 20 different types of alkaloids found in the powder but 92% of them are made up of morphine, codeine, and thebaine."

Mac immediately knew the answer, "Opium." He paused for a minute as he took in the information and made sense of them in his head. "Our vic maybe be trying to manufacture opium." He looked at Adam and Danny, "Go through his belongings. I want to know where he is making the drugs," Mac told them before he left to collect the autopsy report from Sid.

Danny and Adam went back to their work. Adam picked up the victim's boots and tried to scraped off some dirt for testing. Meanwhile, Danny slit open a manila envelope and shook out the contents. A wallet, watch and a key ring landed on the table. Danny picked up the key ring and counted the number of keys.

"That's strange," he said.

"What's strange?" Adam asked from where he was working.

"There's six keys on this ring but one of them is different. Different make, different model and pretty new. I'll bet this key wasn't used to open any door in the vic's home."

"Willing to put money on it?" Flack asked as he entered the lab. "Our boys went through his accounts and found that he was making monthly payments for a warehouse in Brooklyn."

"I'll bet there's where this key fits," Danny declared.

"Let's find out," Flack replied.

The gate to the warehouse was secured with a padlock. Danny took out the keys from the evidence bag and selected the one that was different from the rest. He inserted it into the padlock and opened it easily. Nodding at Flack, he quietly backed away and stood back as Flack and the rest of the police officers rushed inside with their guns drawn.

"Police!" They shouted but nobody was inside.

"All's clear!" Danny heard Flack called after the police had secured the premises.

Danny walked in and was stunned by the sight. "What's this?" he exclaimed.

The whole of the warehouse was brightly lit. The interior was filled with neat rows of rectangular containers filled with soil. Planted in the containers were thousands of seedlings growing under the artificial lighting. It was like a field but indoors.

"Man, we need sunglasses in here," Flack commented.

Danny walked along the rows of plants. "Looks like we found the poppy farm." He held up a poppy seed pod to show Flack. A cut at the side of the pod was slowly oozing a white sap. "See, this is how the vic collected the opium."

"I better give Mac a call," Flack said. "You guys will need all the help you can get."

Danny looked around the whole warehouse and realized that Flack was right. They would probably need teams of people to process this crime scene. He thought about the amount of evidence that would need to be collected, bagged and analyzed. _This could take the whole day_, he realized with a sinking heart.

Hours later, Danny pushed a cart full of bagged evidence into the lab. Adam and Lindsay raised their heads and looked at him with surprise.

"What happened to you?" Lindsay walked over to Danny.

Danny was a filthy sight. There were streaks of dirt on his face and poppy straw in his hair. Dust covered his pants and his shoes were a sight to behold.

Danny was trying to collect some of the poppy plants when the automatic sprinkler system suddenly went off, giving him a shock and causing him to fall headlong into the dirt. The soft dirt cushioned his fall but did nothing for his appearance. Danny emerged unhurt except for his dignity.

"You looked like Pig Pen," Lindsay laughed, referring to the dirty little boy in Charlie Brown.

"Ha ha, very funny." Danny was not in a good mood. He did not like being laughed at, even if it was by his wife. Danny took a box from the cart and dumped it on the table.

"Maybe you should go wash up," Lindsay suggested. "You kind of stink."

"Must be the fertilizer used," Danny said as he left the lab.

Danny went straight to the showers. He stripped off his dirty clothes and stepped into the shower stall. He turned on the tap, letting the running water rinse him clean. His back was aching again and the cold water helped to soothe the pain. Then he took off his wedding ring and cleaned out the dirt that got underneath it. He placed it on an empty soap dish for safekeeping and continued to clean himself up. After the shower, Danny changed into some extra clothes he kept in his locker. Feeling in a better mood, he walked back to the lab and met Lindsay who was on her way to a crime scene.

Since Lindsay would be busy with a new case, Danny went to collect Lucy from her nanny after work. Danny loved Lucy and holding her close always gave him some comfort. But this time it was different. There was a restlessness growing inside Danny and even the presence of his beloved daughter could do nothing to quieten it.

He was putting Lucy to bed when Lindsay returned home. She looked exhausted and went straight to bed after dinner. Danny ended up being the only person awake at home. Not knowing what to do, he sat on the couch and flipped through the TV channels. Although his eyes were fixed on the TV screen, his thoughts kept drifting to Jacqueline.

Lindsay and Lucy remained sound asleep in their beds. Neither of them stirred when Danny switched off the TV and left the apartment.


	5. Face Off

Danny got off the elevator at Jacqueline's floor. He saw the elderly lady from yesterday standing by her door. She beckoned to him urgently. When Danny reached her, she said worriedly, "It's Mr Dobrev. He came back. I think he's hurting Mrs Dobrev."

Before she could finish her sentence, Danny was already running down the corridor towards the Dobrevs' apartment. The front door was left ajar and Danny could hear sounds of struggle coming from within. Danny did not even paused to think. He immediately burst into the room.

Danny noticed an overturned chair and the shattered remains of a vase laid near the coffee table. Johnny was standing menacingly over his wife who was half lying on the floor. His right hand was clenched into a fist and his left hand had grabbed hold of her arm. Jacqueline's normally neat ponytail was undone and some of her hair had fallen across her face.

"Let go of her!" He shouted at Johnny.

Johnny recognized him. "Well, well, looks who's here. Pretty boy in blue."

"Let her go, Johnny," Danny repeated. Danny was anxious about Jacqueline's safety. From where he was standing, he could not tell how badly hurt she was. However he knew that it was a dangerous time to be distracted. With great unwillingness, he kept his attention focused on Johnny.

"Are you meddling in my family affairs, officer?" Johnny turned his attention towards Danny.

Danny was relieved to see that Johnny was distracted by his presence. Johnny seemed to have forgotten about Jacqueline and had released her arm.

Johnny stepped towards Danny and swung a punch. Johnny was a big man and had his fist made contact, it would have knocked the CSI down. But years of alcohol abuse had dulled Johnny's movements. Danny stepped aside nimbly, grabbed Johnny's arm and twisted it behind the latter's back. In one swift movement, he pinned Johnny against the wall. Johnny howled in anger and twisted his upper body violently to get free. Danny held him down firmly and kept him pinned against the wall.

"Look pal, you've got two choices," Danny told him. "You walk out here and never come back. Or we can go down to the station where I charge you with assaulting an officer and put you away for the rest of your life. Either way, you are not to bother Jacqueline again."

"Go to Hell!" Johnny shouted. He was furious at being pinned down.

"That's your answer?" Danny applied more pressure to Johnny's arm.

Johnny yelled in pain. "Okay! Okay! I'll leave!"

"Smart choice," Danny let go of Johnny. He took a few steps back so that he was out of Johnny's reach. At the same time, he positioned himself between Johnny and Jacqueline. If Johnny wanted to get Jacqueline, he would have to go through Danny to do it.

Johnny turned and glared at Danny. Danny noticed that Johnny was rubbing his arm and felt happy that he had caused Johnny some pain.

Then Johnny's eyes rested on Jacqueline. "This isn't over yet, bitch! Your lover boy can't protect you forever!"

"Leave. Now." Danny kept his voice low.

Johnny angrily walked towards the door. Then he stopped, turned and looked at Danny and Jacqueline. His face was distorted in anger and he spat onto the floor as a parting gift. Danny kept watching Johnny until the elevator doors closed shut. Once he was satisfied that Johnny wasn't going to return, he closed the front door and bolted it.

He hurried over to Jacqueline's side and helped her onto the couch. Kneeling down in front of her, he brushed away the loose hair and scrutinized her face. He was relieved that apart from a bruise on her left cheek, there were no other obvious injuries.

"Let me get you some water."

Danny went to the kitchen and came back with a glass of water. He gave the glass to Jacqueline and sat down beside her. Jacqueline raised the glass to her lips and drank mechanically. Danny watched her and was glad that she seemed less pale than before.

"Maybe I should bring you to see a doctor." Danny was worried that Jacqueline might have suffered other injuries which were not obvious to the eye.

Jacqueline immediately shook her head. "No. I will be fine."

Danny wisely decided not to push her. He noticed that her hands were trembling and gently removed the glass from her grasp. Then he took her hands in his. The tears came soon after. Jacqueline buried her head in Danny's shoulder and cried. Danny put his arms around and held her close until the sobs subsided.

Finally Jacqueline raised her head. Her eyes were red and there were streaks of tears on her face, but somehow she managed a weak smile. "Thank you, Danny." She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I must be quite a sight."

Danny smiled back. "You should get some rest."

"Yes, maybe I should," she agreed.

Jacqueline started to stand up but Danny was faster and swept Jacqueline up into his arms.

"What?" Jacqueline was shocked.

"Hush," Danny touched her forehead with his chin. "I'm going to put you to bed."

Jacqueline protested but Danny ignored her. After a while, her protests got softer and softer until she finally stopped. She was too tired to put on a brave front anymore. The defenses she put up to face the world were crumbling and she no longer had the strength to pretend that she was alright. She rested her head on Danny's chest and closed her eyes.

Danny carried her into the bedroom and laid her down on the bed. Then he tucked her in, treating her as gently as a baby. He pulled up a chair next to the bed and sat down.

"I'll be here," he said.

Jacqueline's first reaction was to protest. She did not want to inconvenience Danny any further. But the words would not come. Jacqueline realized with surprise that she wanted Danny to stay. It felt as if everything would be alright as long as he was here. She could just make out his faint outline in the darkened room. Knowing that he was there within her reach comforted her. She drifted off to sleep while looking at Danny's silhouette.

For the first time in a long while, she felt safe.


	6. Asphalt Paves the Way

Lindsay was still asleep when Danny returned home. He checked in on Lucy and then decided to take a shower. The cold water woke him up. He had tried to get some rest while in Jacqueline's apartment but sitting in a chair was not the best way to sleep.

Danny checked in on Lucy again after his shower. This time she was awake and gurgled up at him in delight.

"Good morning, my little princess," Danny picked her up.

Lucy gurgled her reply.

"Are you hungry?" Danny asked Lucy. "Shall Daddy make some of his famous mashed carrots and peas?"

Lucy laughed and clapped her hands.

"I'll take it as a yes then." Danny carried Lucy to the kitchen and sat her in the baby chair. This way, he could keep an eye on her while he made breakfast. Danny prepared Lucy's breakfast first. When that was done, he started on the breakfast for the adults in the family.

"Hmm, smells nice." Lindsay walked into the kitchen.

"Take a seat. Breakfast is just about ready," Danny called over his shoulder.

After a few minutes, Danny piled generous helpings of scrambled eggs onto two plates. Lindsay was already dressed for work. She quickly wolfed down her share.

"Hey, what's the hurry?" Danny asked as he joined her at the table.

"I want to get in early to work on a case." Lindsay replied. Her plate was almost empty. "Could you send Lucy to the nanny instead?"

"Sure," Danny replied. He tickled Lucy. "Daddy will bring you to the nanny today."

"Danny?"

Danny turned and saw Lindsay staring at him. She was frowning slightly. "Yes? What is it?" he asked.

"Where's your ring?"

Danny looked down at his left hand. A pale band of skin showed where his wedding ring was supposed to be. He was surprised that he did not notice the ring was missing until Lindsay mentioned it. He thought quickly about where he had last seen it. "I must have left it in the shower stall," he recalled.

Lindsay looked upset. "How could you, Danny? It's our wedding ring!"

"I'm sorry, Lindsay. It's just slipped my mind." Danny put his hand over Lindsay's but she quickly pulled her hand away and stood up.

"I'm off to work," she announced to no one in particular as she left the room.

"Lindsay," Danny called out to her but she refused to look at him. A minute later, he heard the front door closing and knew that Lindsay had left the home.

Danny looked wearily at Lucy. "Well, I guess, that just leaves you and me here. Any ideas on how to get your mommy to stop being angry at me?"

Lucy blew a bubble at him.

After dropping Lucy off at her nanny, Danny went to work. As he walked along the corridor, he spotted Lindsay working in one of the labs.

"Hey Lindsay," he called. Icy silence greeted him.

Danny stepped into the lab. "How about we go grab a bite at the new deli during lunch? I heard from Sheldon that they sell awesome sandwiches." Danny tried to sound cheerful, hoping that the lighthearted tone would disperse Lindsay's anger.

Lindsay continued to ignored him. So Danny went to stand in front of her. "How about it? My treat." He smiled.

Lindsay looked at him angrily. "How can you still joke? This is a serious matter."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do it on purpose," Danny apologized

"Sorry is not enough," Lindsay retorted. "It's our wedding ring. You shouldn't have lost something so important."

"I think you are getting worked up over nothing. I didn't lose the ring, I just left it in the showers," Danny was losing his patience.

Lindsay turned and faced him. "It's our wedding ring, Danny. It represents our marriage. If you can just leave the ring anywhere, it shows that you don't value our marriage."

"Look, I think you are reading too much into things," Danny replied. "Even if I really lost it, so what? It's just a ring. I can buy another one exactly the same to replace it."

Lindsay glared at him angrily. "Don't you get it? It's not just any ring. It's our wedding ring. You should have taken as much care about it as you do our marriage." Lindsay blinked away the hot tears that appeared in her eyes. She turned her back to him. "Go away, Danny."

Danny knew that nothing else he said would get through to Lindsay. So he left the lab.

Flack was standing outside, looking at the scene with amusement. "Lovers' tiff?" he asked Danny.

"Marriage isn't all it's cracked up to be," Danny replied bitterly. It wasn't the first time he and Lindsay quarreled over a minor issue since they had gotten married. The guys continued down the corridor to where Danny was working on the case.

Adam was already in the lab. He looked up as Danny and Flack entered. "Oh good, I was about to page you," he said.

"What have you got, Adam?" Danny asked.

"Remember the soil from the vic's boots?" Adam asked. "Well, I've tested it and found traces of sulfuric acid and diacetylmorphine hydrochloride."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Flack was baffled.

Danny explained, "Someone was turning the opium it into heroin." He rubbed his chin. "There's no evidence in the vic's home or the warehouse that indicates he is manufacturing heroin."

"Maybe he makes them at another secret location?" Adam suggested.

"That's an idea. I'll get the boys to go through his accounts again to see if they can spot any suspicious payments." Flack turned to leave the lab.

"Wait," Adam called. "There's something else."

When he was sure that he had the full attention of the other two guys, Adam continued. "I did some tests on the tires of the vic's car and found traces of asphalt. It was fresh so I checked with the Department of Transportation and found that these were the only roads paved in the last week." Adam pointed at the big screen where a map of Brooklyn was displayed. Two roads were highlighted. Adam also displayed the location of the vic's home and the warehouse.

Danny and Flack understood immediately.

"He wouldn't have pass by these two roads if he was going from his home to the warehouse," Danny said.

Flack pointed at a spot on the map. "That's his workplace over here. He wouldn't have taken these roads if he was going to work either. The vic must have traveled on these roads for a reason."

"That's what I thought too," Adam agreed. "So I pulled all the footage from the traffic cameras along these roads for the past week. I went through hours of traffic videos until I found this." The screen changed to display the footage taken from the traffic cameras. Adam pointed at white car traveling along the road. "This is the victim's car." Another video appeared on the screen. This time the white car had stopped in front of a building and the guys could clearly see the victim was entering it.

"Can you find out what's the address for this building?" Flack asked.

Adam handed him a slip of paper. "I already did."

"Nice work," Danny told Adam as he followed Flack out of the lab.


	7. No Confession

Danny and Flack looked at the apartment building in front of them. It was a plain nondescript building just like the rest along the street.

"So this is were the vic went," Danny mused. "Do you think his accomplice lives here?

"I guess we'll find out," Flack replied.

They approached the building and Flack spoke to the doorman. The doorman recognized the murder victim from the photo. According to the doorman, the victim visited a resident who stayed on the fifth floor once or twice a month. In fact, the doorman revealed, he just dropped by a few days ago.

"Let's pay him a visit," Danny told Flack.

They went up to the fifth floor and looked for Nick Bloom's apartment. Just as Flack was going to knock on the door, Danny spotted something on the floor. "Wait," he said and bent down to pick a leaf that was peeking out from under the door.

Danny held up the almost dried leaf for Flack to see. "Poppy leaf. Our vic was definitely here recently."

Flack knocked loudly on the door. A clean shaven man with close cropped hair opened it. He was dressed simply in a gray t-shirt and and track pants.

Flack held up his badge, "Nick Bloom?"

The man nodded his head silently. His eyes darted anxiously at Flack, then at Danny and back at Flack again.

"Do you know this man?" Flack held up the photo of the murder victim for Nick to see.

Once again Nick nodded silently. A bead of sweat was starting to form on his forehead.

Danny looked into the room behind Nick. He spotted a closed door and wondered what was behind it. He inched pass Nick while he was distracted by Flack and made it into the apartment. "Nice place you've got here. Mind if we take a look?"

"What? No!" Nick moved to stop Danny but he was not fast enough. Danny had reached the closed door. He turned the door knob and threw open the door. Inside the room was a homemade chemistry lab; full of beakers and test tubes.

"Nice setup you have here," Danny remarked.

"Just doing some experiments. Hobby," Nick replied nervously.

"Really? Interesting pastime you have." Danny moved among the beakers. "What is this?" He took up a tray full of white powder from the table.

"Just some sea salt," Nick replied nervously.

Danny took a small kit from his bag and dropped a bit of the white powder into it. Then he dissolved the powder in a chemical solution. The water turned blue immediately. "Boom. We have heroin." He showed Flack the result.

Nick tried to make a break for the door but Flack had already anticipated it and was blocking the way. He caught hold of Nick and said "I think you have some explaining to do down at the station."

Danny and Flack were in one of the interview rooms down at the station. Nick Bloom sat opposite them. Danny tossed a packet of white powder onto the table. "Recognize this?" he asked Nick.

No reply.

"We found this in your apartment and our lab confirmed that it's heroin."

Still no reply.

Danny glanced over at Flack before continuing, "We know that Tim Higgins is growing poppies and collecting opium from them. We know he supplied you with opium a couple of times a month. We know that you used the opium to make heroin. We have enough evidence to put you in prison for a long time, so why don't you just come clean and make it easier for all of us?"

Nick Bloom did not move a muscle. Danny was beginning to wonder if the man had turned to stone.

"What happened, Nick?" Flack asked. "Did Tim get greedy? Did he wanted a bigger cut of the profits? Is that why you killed him?"

Flack's words got a reaction out of Nick, although it wasn't the reaction that Danny was expecting. Nick stared at Flack in shock. "Tim's died?" he cried.

Danny and Flack traded a look. Then Flack answered, "Yes."

"Oh no!" Nick buried his head in his hands. "Oh no! He killed Tim! He killed Tim! This is all my fault."

Danny leaned forward. "Who killed Tim?"

Nick did not seem to have heard him, so preoccupied was he in his own horror at the situation. He shook his head fiercely. "I shouldn't have told him. Oh no! Oh no! It's my fault. Tim is dead and it's my fault."

Danny banged on the table to get Nick's attention. "Who killed Tim?" he repeated his question.

"No! I can't tell you. He'll kill me if he finds out! He'll kill me like he did Tim!" Nick was terrified.

Another hour of questioning yielded little in result. Nick was obviously terrified of the killer. He refused to divulge any more information about what happened, preferring instead to go to prison. Danny was frustrated by the lack of progress in the case.

"It's no good," he complained to Flack once they were out of the interview room. "He won't say a thing."

Flack thought about it. "We have enough evidence to hold him for manufacturing heroin. After he tasted cell food, he might be more willing to talk."

Since there was nothing more he could do at the station, Danny went back to the lab. First thing he did upon arriving back was to update Mac on the arrest of Nick Bloom. Mac listened patiently and then he advised Danny to search Nick's belongings for clues that might lead them to the killer. So Danny went to work on the evidence collected from Nick's apartment. He went through all of Nick's belongings with utmost care, hoping that a clue would lead him to the killer. Hours went by and before Danny knew it, it was the end of his shift.

He heard Lindsay's voice saying goodbye to their colleagues and waited for her to drop by his lab. When there was no sight of her after fifteen minutes, Danny knew that she was still angry with him. He sighed deeply. Experience told him that he would be facing a stony silence at home.

"Hey Danny," Sheldon popped his head into the lab. "The guys are going for some drinks after work. Do you want to join us?"

"Aw, no, I don't think so. I'm pooped," Danny replied.

"Alright then," Sheldon replied. "See you tomorrow."

After Sheldon left, Danny looked around the empty lab. Truth to be told, Danny needed a drink. Nothing went smoothly today. He was making no headway in the case and Lindsay was still angry with him. He did not want to go home but at the same time, he did not feel like being in the company of the guys. _Not today_, he shook his head. He wanted something else, something more than the camaraderie of his pals.

Danny left the lab thinking that he would walk along the streets until Lindsay had cooled down, or better yet, asleep.


	8. Passion

**Warning: DL fans might want to skip this chapter.**

Danny hesitated in front of Jacqueline's door. He felt guilty about being there. It was late and he should be home with his wife and daughter, not standing outside the door of a woman he had known for only three days. Danny did not understand it himself. He originally planned to wander the streets for a while but his feet seemed to have a mind of their own. It was as if there was a mysterious attraction pulling him towards Jacqueline's building. Before he knew it, he was standing in front of her door.

Still Danny hesitated. He tried to convince himself that he was only dropping by because he was worried about Jacqueline. He wanted to make sure that Johnny did not return to cause anymore trouble. Although Johnny promised to stay away, Danny had serious doubts about whether he would keep his end of the promise. Johnny was not the trustworthy type. Danny's thoughts switched to Jacqueline and he wondered if she would be glad to see him. His heart gave a flutter at the thought of her.

Danny reached into his pocket and touched his wedding ring. He had collected his ring from the showers the moment he reached the workplace in the morning. At first he was delighted that the ring was still where he left it. But after he quarreled with Lindsay, his rebellious streak made him keep the wedding ring in his pocket instead of wearing it on his finger. He felt the cold hard metal between his fingers and an image of a woman appeared in his mind. Surprisingly, it was not Lindsay but Jacqueline Dobrev.

"Danny?"

Danny turned around and saw that Jacqueline had just stepped out of the elevator. She had just returned from work. When she saw a figure of a man waiting outside her door, she was frightened that it would be Johnny again. She was relieved to find that it was Danny and not her husband that was waiting for her. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you," Danny smiled at her, feeling his heart beat a little bit faster.

"Again?" Jacqueline smiled back although her eyebrows were raised in question. Danny could still see the slight bruise on her left cheek left behind by her husband. She had covered it up with makeup and unless someone looked very closely, it was unnoticeable.

"Yes. Again." Danny looked at her. Jacqueline had joined him in front of the door. They stood there looking at each other.

"Are you happy to see me?" Danny asked softly. He was standing so close to Jacqueline that he could feel the warmth radiating from her body. She looked at him and he was pleased to see that her cheeks were turning pinkish. _She's blushing_, he thought happily.

"Yes," Jacqueline whispered softly. One simple word and yet it was able to convey the depths of her feelings. She looked at Danny and her eyes shone brightly with emotions. Danny knew she felt the same way too. Looking into her eyes, he knew that this was where he wanted to be. This was all that he ever wanted.

Danny reached out and pulled her closer. He bent his head and kissed her gently on the lips. At first Jacqueline stiffened, unused to such tenderness. Then she relaxed and seemed to melt into his arms. He felt Jacqueline reached up and rested her hands on his shoulders. Wrapping his arms around her, he held her close to him, never wanting to let her go.

"Danny," Jacqueline said when they finally stopped kissing. She was slightly breathless.

"Yes?" Danny asked, thinking that her voice calling his name was the most beautiful sound he ever heard. He leaned forward for another kiss.

Jacqueline gently held her hand up to his lips. "Someone might see us, Danny."

"Let them. They have no business peeking anyway."

Jacqueline chuckled and gently removed herself from his embrace. Danny watched as she unlocked the front door. He had an overwhelming urge to take her into his arms and plant multiple kisses on her. But at the same time, he was afraid that he was going too fast and would lose her. He had never felt like this about another woman before, not even Lindsay.

_Lindsay_. Danny mused over the sound of her name in his mind. When he found out that she was pregnant, his first reaction was to do the right thing and marry her. He had never regretted that decision. He loved Lindsay but lately he couldn't help wondering if the marriage was perhaps a little too hasty. Living with someone was very different from being in a relationship. Being under one roof seemed to magnify all the differences in their personalities. They quarreled more than a few times, sometimes over issues so trivial that he was amazed they actually fought over it.

And here he was now, with a woman he had known for less than a week, feeling stronger emotions towards her than anything he had ever felt towards Lindsay. _Lindsay_. He spoke her name in his head again. But right now she felt like a half-forgotten memory, hazy and faraway.

Danny looked at Jacqueline and felt his heart aching at her absence from his arms. It was funny how much his heart yearned for her when she was just within an arm's length. He moved closer to her and waited for her to unlock the door. Her lovely feminine scent tickled his nostrils. With all the self-control he could muster, he managed to keep his hands by his side until they were in the apartment.

Once the front door was closed, Danny reached out from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his hands on her belly. He heard her gave a small gasp. He kissed the back of her head, moved down to her right ear and sucked gently on her earlobe. "I love you," he whispered huskily. Then he continued downwards to her neck. He stroked her neck with his lips, moving slowly down to her shoulder. Baring his teeth, he nibbled gently and heard the sharp intake of her breath.

Jacqueline turned around so she was facing him. "Danny, I..." but the rest of what she wanted to say was lost when Danny covered her mouth with his lips. "Don't spoil the moment," he whispered and kissed her again. Jacqueline's hands moved from his chest upwards to his shoulders. They swayed sinuously, like dancers in the dark.

Danny's hand slipped under her blouse. He moved his hand up her back, feeling her soft silky skin. His stroking fingers sent shivers of pleasure down Jacqueline's body. She pressed herself against his muscular body, feeling the warmth of his passion radiating from beneath his shirt.

Then Danny bent slightly and lifted her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her. Still kissing each other, Danny slowly walked towards the bedroom.


	9. Johnny is Dead

The sound of his mobile's ringtone woke Danny up. He gently untangled himself from Jacqueline and slide off the bed. He fumbled in the dark for his cellphone. Guided only by the muffled sound, he picked up his pants from where they had landed on the floor and extracted the mobile from the pocket. He looked at the screen. It was Mac. Not wanting to disturb Jacqueline, Danny felt his way to the bedroom door.

"Mac?" Danny answered the call once he was outside the bedroom.

"Danny," came the elder detective's voice, calm and businesslike as always. Danny wondered if his boss ever sleep.

"I'm sorry to disturb your sleep, Danny," Mac continued. "Could you come in early to handle the morning shift?"

"Sure, no prob," Danny replied immediately. His groggy mind seemed to remembered something and he asked, "Isn't Sheldon supposed to take the morning shift?"

"Yes, but he's sick at the moment."

"What?" Danny remembered that Sheldon was out for drinks with the guys the night before. "You don't expect me to believe that he drank so much that he was sick? This is Sheldon Hawkes we're talking about."

"No, Sheldon didn't get sick over beer." There was a faint trace of amusement in Mac's voice. "He had food poisoning. An oyster didn't quite agree with him."

"I see. Alright, I'll be there in the morning," Danny promised.

He checked the time after he hanged up. It was almost four in the morning. He would have to get moving if he wanted to be on time for the six o'clock shift. Danny went back to the bedroom to retrieve his clothes. He stood by the bed and glanced down at the sleeping figure of Jacqueline. Bending down, he stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers.

"Mmmmm... Danny?" Jacqueline whispered sleepily.

"Got to go," Danny whispered, still stroking her cheek. His heart filled with love as he looked down at her face. His fingers brushed away a sweat-drenched strand of hair that stuck to her forehead. "I'm on morning shift. I'll be back after work ends," he promised.

Jacqueline sat up. The movement caused the covers to fall from her naked body, revealing her womanly curves. Once again, Danny felt his desire rising inside him. He sat down on the bed and took her into his arms. Cupping her face in his hands, he kissed her deeply.

An hour later, Danny left Jacqueline's apartment. He stopped by his home first for a shower and a change of clothes. Then he scribbled a note for Lindsay and left it on the kitchen counter. The girls were still fast asleep when he left.

Danny stepped out of the elevator and bumped into Mac in the corridor. "Here," Mac handed Danny his kit box. "There's a homicide in Queens."

Flack was already waiting for them. He called out to the two CSIs when they arrived. "Over here," he indicated his head towards an alley.

Mac and Danny followed behind him. Danny saw a person lying face down in an area surrounded by the yellow and black crime scene tape. There was something vaguely familiar about the victim but no matter how much he tried he couldn't put his finger on it.

Flack was updating them. "Jogger spotted him," Flack said. "As usual, nobody saw or heard anything. I've got the boys combing the block to see if it's our lucky day and the killer decided to discard the murder weapon nearby."

Mac gave a brisk nod. Then he ducked under the crime scene tape to do a preliminary examination of the body. Danny was about to follow his boss when Flack laid a hand on his arm. "Old friend of ours," he said.

"What?" Danny was puzzled.

"Check it out yourself," Flack glanced at the dead man.

Mac was already kneeling by the side of the body. Danny ducked under the crime scene tape and joined him. Mac pointed at the victim's back.

"Stab wounds in the back. He was probably taken by surprise. Cuts on his hands means that he tried to defend himself. He probably crawled here from the street judging by the scruff marks on his shoes." Danny helped him turned the body over and got a shock when he found himself looking down at the gray lifeless face of Johnny Dobrev.

"Someone you know?" Mac raised his eyebrows.

Danny nodded. "Flack and I questioned him about Tim Higgin's murder a few days ago." A thought stuck him. "You think his death is connected to the murder?"

"Might be," Mac mused. "The evidence will tell."

Danny nodded. He expected Mac to say that.

Out of the corner of his eye, Danny noticed a police officer running up to Flack. After Flack spoke the officer, he walked towards the CSIs.

"Mac," he addressed the older man respectfully. "We found the murder weapon dumped a few streets away. Want to take a look?"

"Sure," Mac got up and dusted off his pants. "There's no more we can do here anyway." He signaled to the men waiting by the side to let them know that he had finished his examination of the body. It was now ready to be delivered to the morgue for a detailed autopsy.

Once the body was safely bagged and loaded into the truck, Mac and Danny followed Flack. He led them to another alley a few streets away. Inside the dumpster, the police officers had found a bloody knife. Mac reached in with his gloved hand and carefully took out the knife.

Mac gave it a quick examination. "Looks new. Seems to be the common store bought quality." He then put it into the evidence bag that Danny held open.

"It won't be easy to identify who bought it," Danny sighed.

"Maybe, maybe not. We still have to follow all leads," Mac replied.

He looked thoughtfully at Danny. Being of a somewhat impatient nature, Danny often wanted a quick resolution to the case. Lacking the older man's patience, Danny preferred to rely on his hunches in the beginning of his career at the crime lab. However under the tutorship of Mac, Danny slowly learned to rein in his impatience and focus of the evidence in front of him. Over the years, Mac had seen improvement in that aspect. But at times, Danny still displayed frustration at not being able to get the answers quickly. It would be a long while before patience became a natural part of Danny's character.

Mac hid a smile as he instructed Danny to bring the murder weapon back to the lab for testing. Then he left with Flack to interview Johnny Dobrev's widow.

Danny got back to the lab and handed the knife to Lindsay for analysis. He was relieved that she seemed to be in a better mood. He was not keen for a repeat of yesterday.

"Hey Danny, I'm sorry I snapped at you yesterday," Lindsay said as she touched her husband's arm. "It's just that our marriage matters a lot to me."

Danny knew the right thing to say. "Sure, I understand," he said, smiling with an ease he didn't felt. Truth was, he was preoccupied with something else and the quarrel with Lindsay was the least of his worries right now. Danny looked around for any sight of Flack or Mac. He had not seen them seen he left the crime scene.

"I'm glad you do," Lindsay experienced a sense of satisfaction that Danny finally agreed with her. She did not notice his restless movements as he fidgeted with the equipment in the lab. "You know, I didn't hear you come home yesterday night," Lindsay continued.

"Not surprising. You were fast asleep." Danny quickly replied. He knew very well what he was doing yesterday night. The memory brought a smile to his face.

Thinking that Danny was smiling at her, Lindsay smiled back. "You work too hard. You must remember to make some time for your family."

"Sure," Danny answered absentmindedly. He backed away, "I'll leave the knife with in your capable hands."

Danny went back to his lab to continue work on Tim Higgin's murder case. Every few minutes he would raise his head to peep down the corridor to see if Mac or Flack had returned. His ears were on the alert for the sound of their voices as he shifted through Nick Bloom's belongings. Soon his vigilance paid off and he heard Mac's footsteps against the smooth tiled floor of the crime lab.

Danny left the lab and caught up with Mac. "You went to see Mrs Dobrev?" he asked.

"Yes," Mac nodded. "We informed her of the news of her husband's demise."

"How was it?" Danny tried to ask as casually as he could.

Thinking that Danny was asking about the case, Mac answered, "She wasn't able to offer any information on who might have attacked her husband. It seemed that he often spend days away from home, only dropping in once in a while to collect money. Flack informed me that we might be able to get some clues from his girlfriend."

It wasn't what Danny was interested in knowing. He tried asking again, "How did she react?"

"Mrs Dobrev? Shocked, naturally. It seemed genuine and there was nothing suspicious about her reactions," Mac replied.

Danny nodded silently, trying to keep his expression neutral even though he was deeply worried about how Jacqueline was holding up.

"How about your end? Uncovered any new information?" Mac asked, breaking through Danny's thoughts.

"There's something but I'm not sure how relevant it is," Danny sighed. "I found a receipt while going through Nick Bloom's clothes. It was issued by Starbucks on same day as Tim Higgins' murder."

"Follow up on it. It might lead to something," Mac suggested.

"Okay." Danny started dialing Flack's number.

Danny met Flack at the Starbucks outlet. Flack showed the staff a photo of Nick Bloom and cashier recalled seeing him talking to someone. But it was a busy day and the cashier did not pay them much attention. She was only able to give them a vague description of the guy. Checking the records did not help as Nick's mysterious friend paid in cash. Their only hope was the security cameras in the shop. Hopefully Adam would be able to get a visual of the suspect from the grainy footage.

As they exited Starbucks, Danny looked at his watch and realized that his shift was over. After making one final stop back at the lab to hand the tapes over to Adam, Danny left. He was in such a hurry that he did not even stop to say goodbye to Lindsay.


	10. Broken Dreams

Danny knocked rapidly on the door. His worry made him impatient. "Jacqueline," he called. "Can you hear me? It's me, Danny."

He heard someone moving within. A moment later, the door opened. Jacqueline leaned wearily against the door. Her face was pale and her posture tensed. Danny could see the strain in her eyes and it frightened him. She whispered his name and Danny immediately moved close to her. He took her into his arms and felt her buried her face in his shoulder. Jacqueline closed her eyes and breathed deeply, inhaling his comforting manly scent. Danny gently stroked her back. They stood there holding each other, seeking comfort in the each other's presence.

After a while, Danny helped her to the couch. He sat down beside her and laid a protective arm across her shoulders, pulling her close so that she was leaning against him.

"Danny?" Jacqueline whispered as she rest her head on his shoulder.

"Yes?"

"Thank you," she said.

Danny understood perfectly. He continued to hold her for a while longer. Neither of them said anything else. There was no need to. When two souls had touched each other, words became merely sounds in the wind.

Danny was the first to stir. "Hungry?" he asked.

"Not really." Jacqueline tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear.

Danny looked at her ashen face, his brow creasing with worry. "You've got to eat something. When did you last ate something?"

When Jacqueline wasn't able to give him an answer, he stood up. "Let me go to the kitchen and see if I can find something." Danny went into the kitchen and rummaged through the refrigerator and the larder. Jacqueline had kept them well-stocked with food. Looking through the ingredients, Danny decided that he could prepare something fast and simple to eat.

"How does some pasta sounds?" Danny asked, coming out of the kitchen. He noticed Jacqueline looking down at something she was holding in her hands. He walked closer and saw the she was holding a photo of a younger version of her and her husband.

"That's Johnny and me," she told Danny as he sat down beside her. The couple in the photo were laughing at the camera, their faces bright with youthful exuberance and optimism for the future. Jacqueline took on a faraway look as she thought back to the past. "We met in high school. Johnny was the quarterback of the school team. I'm in the cheerleading squad. The quarterback and the cheerleader. We dated through college and when we got married, it was like a fairytale ending."

A sad smile appeared on Jacqueline's face. "We were very happy in the beginning. We didn't have much but it was enough as long as we have each other." Her fingers gently touched Johnny's face in the photo. "Danny, you only saw Johnny the way he is now, but he isn't always like that. Johnny is..." Then she caught herself. She looked distressed as she said softly, "Was."

Danny placed his hand over hers and gave it a squeeze. Jacqueline smiled gratefully at him.

She continued, "Johnny was a sweet guy. All he ever wanted was to be a football player in the NFL. When he was spotted by a scout from the Giants, it was like a dream come true. Then one day Johnny got injured during practice and the doctor said he would not be able to play again. Johnny started drinking to forget. At first it wasn't much, just a can here and there. But the more he drank, the more drunk he got and the more he wanted to drink. It got so bad that sometimes he was drunk for the whole day. Then the agents stopped calling."

She paused, thinking about the past. The sad smile still lingering on her lips. "Of course this made Johnny drink more and more. I tried to help him but everything I did just made him angry. And when he's angry, he said hurtful things. It got from bad to worse until finally I didn't try anymore. I told myself to stop caring about him. But for a long time, I still hoped that Johnny would go back to being the sweet boy I once knew in high school."

Jacqueline quickly brushed away a drop of tear from the corner of her eye. Danny patted her hand, trying to think of something to comfort her.

"You know, this may come as a surprise but I understood how Johnny felt," he said. And he told her about that summer when he ignored the doctor's orders and sneaked out to play baseball. He ended up hurting his arm so badly that he had to give up the game he loved. "I was pretty beaten up about it. Baseball was my whole life back then," Danny concluded.

"How did you get over it?" Jacqueline asked.

"Well, my older brother, Louie, didn't let me sit around moping for long. One day he came into my room and punched me, telling me to get off my butt and face it like a man." Danny rubbed his chin, remembering where Louie's fist had made contact with his face. He gave a wry smile. "I was pretty mad with Louie back then, but on hindsight, it was probably more effective than all the consoling in the world."

Jacqueline chuckled then quickly stopped. She said somberly, "Perhaps that's what Johnny needed; an older brother to get him back on his feet again."

Danny replied, "Don't blame yourself. You couldn't have known how things would turn out."

Jacqueline shook her head. "I know you are right, Danny. But I can't help feeling that I should have tried harder, I should have stuck by Johnny... then maybe Johnny would be still alive today."

Danny did not say anything. He understood how Jacqueline felt because he felt the same way about Louie. If he had made up with Louie, if he had taken the time to listen... Then maybe, just maybe, Louie wouldn't be lying on the hospital bed in a coma.

Danny swallowed the lump in his throat that appeared whenever he thought about his brother and forced a smile. "So... how about some pasta? I'm not too bad a cook."

Jacqueline thought for a moment and said, "How about we go out? I want to get some fresh air."

"Sounds good to me. No dirty dishes to wash up," he joked as he helped her up.

Danny and Jacqueline bought a hotdog each and sat in a quiet park nearby to eat their lunch. Then hustle and bustle of the big city faded away into the background as Danny watched late afternoon sunlight shone through the gaps in the trees, painting the grass with patches of warm gold. Enjoying his tranquil surroundings, Danny felt a kind of peace that he had not felt for a long time.

Suddenly Danny's mobile rang. He picked it up and saw that the caller was Lindsay. The was a momentarily stab of panic as he wondered if Lindsay had spotted them. Then logic took over and he knew that there was no way that Lindsay would know as she was back at the crime lab. But he was still a little shaken as he took the call.

"Yeah?" Danny tried to keep his voice as neutral as possible.

"Danny, could you pick Lucy up from her nanny? I'll be working late today," came Lindsay's voice.

"Sure, I'll do it."

Danny felt relieved as he hung up. He looked at Jacqueline. "Hey, I'm sorry..."

"I know. Duty calls. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"You sure?"

Jacqueline smiled, "I'm sure. Don't worry, I'm a big girl now. You better get going, you don't want to get your boss angry."

Danny smiled back, "Okay, but you call me if you need anything." He left after giving her a quick kiss.


	11. Lost and Found

"I think," Adam began.

He was in the break room, together with Danny and Flack. Danny was slouched over the table, using his left hand to prop his head up. He looked tired, as if he did not sleep well the night before. Flack sipped his coffee slowly, taking care not to spill any of it on his expensive silk tie. Both of them were looking at Adam in anticipation.

Adam waved his half-eaten muffin as he illustrated his theory. "I think that Tim Higgins quarreled with Nick Bloom over the profits and threatened to squeal unless he gets a bigger share. So Nick decided to finish off Tim. He bribed Johnny Dobrev to steal the key to Tim's apartment when he went to work on the plumbing. Then Nick sneaked into Tim's apartment and beat him up. After he killed Tim, he killed Johnny so that no one will incriminate him."

"I don't know, Adam," Flack shook his head. "I still like my theory better."

"What? The one where Nick injected Tim with an untraceable poison? That's something out of a storybook," Adam said.

"Poison is more plausible than your Nick-beats-Tim-up theory. If you have seen Nick, you would know there's no way he would have won Tim in a fight." Flack replied.

"For all you know, Nick Bloom could be a secret kung fu master." Adam waved his hands wildly in a chopping motion. He suddenly grabbed Danny's finger. "Heeeeeeeeeeyyaaa! Beware the Wuxi Finger Hold!"

Flack burst into laughter at the astonished look on Danny's face.

"When you two kids have finished clowning around, maybe you would like to listen to my theory," Danny said huffily.

"Sorry, but the look on your face..." Flack couldn't continue and doubled over with laughter.

Looking over at Adam, Danny could see that he wasn't in any better condition than Flack. The lab tech was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down his face. _Mad, they have all gone mad_, Danny decided as he stared at the two men. He sighed resignedly.

When Flack and Adam finally stopped laughing and settled down, Danny explained his theory. "Here's what I think. Tim and Nick are part of a drug syndicate. Then one day, Johnny goes to fix a leaky tap in Tim's house and found a hidden stash of the drugs. So Johnny does the natural thing, he stole it. When Tim finds out the drugs are missing, he tells their boss. It must have pissed the big man off. And Boom! Tim is killed for losing the drugs and Johnny for stealing them."

"Danny!" Lindsay walked into the room. "I thought I've told you not to say that anymore?"

"Say what?" Danny asked.

"Boom," Lindsay glared at Danny. "What if Lucy hears you?"

"Lucy isn't here," Danny pointed out.

"That's not the point. You promised me not to say it. You should have kept your promise. Do you want 'Boom' to be the first word Lucy says?" Lindsay argued.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. It was a slip of the tongue. It won't happen again," Danny promised. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Flack and Adam standing uncomfortably against the wall, making themselves as inconspicuous as possible. They were pretending hard not to take any notice of the conversation between Lindsay and him.

"I hope not. You've got to be more careful of what you say, Danny. I can't always be around to remind you," Lindsay answered.

"Yes, I know. I'll watch what I say," Danny replied, hoping to get Lindsay off his back.

Fortunately for him, Stella came looking for Lindsay to discuss a case. After reminding Danny again not to say the forbidden word, Lindsay left the room. Danny sighed loudly.

"Trouble in paradise?" Flack asked.

"The usual," Danny replied irritably.

"You know, marriage is give and take," Adam said. When Danny and Flack turned to look at him, Adam became nervous and stammered, "That's what I've heard people say."

"Adam's right. Marriage is a lot give and take," Flack told Danny.

"Well, lately it seems that she has been the one doing all the giving. Giving orders, that is." Danny got up and walked towards the door. He threw his half-eaten energy bar forcefully into the dustbin. He had lost his appetite. The energy bar landed in the dustbin with a satisfying thud sound as it hit the bottom.

Danny walked back to the lab and continued to work on identifying Nick Bloom's mysterious acquaintance at the coffee shop. Adam had tried his best with the grainy footage from the security cameras but the quality just was not good enough. The tape had been reused too many times. Nonetheless, they were able to tell the height of the man. Using the height of the tables in Starbucks as a guide, Adam managed to estimate the height of the unknown man as five feet and eight inches. It wasn't much but it was a start.

Danny started going through the call records of Tim Higgins and Nick Bloom, cross referencing them to see if there were any common numbers. After a few hours, Danny discovered what could be a lead. He checked and double checked to make sure he was correct before bringing his findings to Mac.

"Mac, I found something," Danny said as he stepped into Mac's office. He showed Mac the cellphone records and pointed out a common cellphone that communicated with both Tim and Nick. "The number belonged to a Ricky Garcia, arrested twice for possession of illegal substances. Over the past three months, he had communicated several times with both Tim and Nick. Nick also called Ricky an hour before Nick and his acquaintance were seen at Starbucks."

"That's not all," Danny continued. "Ricky is five foot eight, which matches with the man who met Nick at Starbucks as well as witness reports of the man who entered Tim's apartment on the day of the murder."

Mac looked over Danny's findings. He nodded. "Let's bring him in for questioning."

As a rule, Mac did not allow suspects to be interviewed at the crime lab. This was to prevent outsiders from tampering with the evidence but it meant that Danny needed to make a trip down to the police station to question Ricky Garcia. As he passed by the reception counter near the main entrance, he spotted a familiar figure.

"Hey," he greeted Jacqueline as he walked over to stand beside her. He waved to the receptionist to let her know that he will handle this.

"Hi," Jacqueline smiled nervously at him.

"I didn't know you were here," he said.

"The police called me up and said I could collect Johnny's personal belongings."

_It explains her nervousness_, Danny thought. "I'll bring you to the collection counter where you can pick up Johnny's stuff," he told Jacqueline as he led her down the corridor. When the two of them were alone inside the elevator, Danny reached out and gently held her hand.

"How are you holding up?" he asked, while stroking the back of her hand with his thumb.

"I'm fine," Jacqueline replied and quickly removed her hand.

Danny was a little hurt and puzzled by Jacqueline's action. But he said nothing, putting it down to the emotional trauma from Johnny's death. They didn't say a single word until Jacqueline had collected Johnny's belongings and they had left the crime lab.

"Here, let me send you home," Danny said, trying to wave down a cab.

Jacqueline hung back. "No."

"No?"

In reply, Jacqueline took a brown envelope from her handbag and passed it to him.

"What's this?" Danny wondered. He opened the envelope and tilted it. A gold ring fell into his palm. Danny looked down and was shocked when he recognized that it as his wedding ring. He stared at it in disbelief. A multitude of images flashed through his head like waves crashing on the rocks.

_He was back in Jacqueline's bedroom again. He saw himself took out the mobile from his pants pocket. There was a brief flash of gold as something fell out together with his mobile. But he didn't notice, didn't register at that moment the significance. It was Mac calling him and he hurriedly left the room to take the call. There was no time to search and he had forgotten about it when he returned to the bedroom._

"I don't think we should see each other again," Jacqueline said, breaking his train of thoughts. The tears in her voice tugged at Danny's heart.

He looked at her and the expression on her face broke his heart. He whispered her name, "Jacqueline..."

"I... I found this on the bedroom floor while I was tidying up Johnny's stuff. You must have dropped it. I thought... I thought I should return it to you." Jacqueline refused to look at him.

"Jacqueline," Danny tried to speak. "Jacqueline, please, don't leave me."

"How can I?" Jacqueline stared at him, her eyes showing all the pain she felt in her heart. She repeated softly, "How can I? How can we? You're married, Danny."

"Jacqueline." Danny tried to reach for her, but when he saw the way she backed away from him, he let his hand dropped. "Yes, I'm married but I meant what I've said. My feelings for you are true. I love you and I want to be with you."

She shook her head. "We shouldn't see each other again." She turned her head away and looked with unseeing eyes at the passing traffic. "Johnny had women outside. I've known about it for a long time." She blinked away the tears that suddenly gathered in her eyes. Even after all these years, it still hurt when she thought about it.

She continued, "I know what it feels like when your husband is with another woman. I can't do this to your wife. I can't let her suffer the same fate as me." She looked at Danny sadly and a tear rolled down her cheek. "Goodbye."

"Jacqueline," Danny said but she was already gone, lost in the crowd.

Danny remained standing at the same spot for a long time, staring at the ring on in his palm. Finally he closed his fingers over it and stuffed his fist into his pocket. He was about to go after her when Flack called. It reminded him that he still had a job to do.


	12. Ricky Confesses

Danny walked into the interview room. Ricky Gracia was already sitting inside. He tossed the folder he was carrying casually onto the table and sat down opposite Ricky. Flack followed behind and sat down in the remaining chair in the room. Danny had the leisure to study Ricky while Flack started with the questioning.

Ricky had the feel of someone who was accustomed to conducting his business on the streets. He looked to be in his mid to late twenties. His greasy dark hair was tied back in a ponytail and three earrings hung on his left ear. He had a pencil thin mustache above his lips and long sideburns. Despite the hot weather, Ricky was dressed in a black leather jacket. Danny could see rings of all shapes and sizes on Ricky's fingers as he tapped them impatiently on the table.

Flack pushed photos of Tim Higgins and Nick Bloom across the table so Ricky could take a look at time. "Recognize them?" Flack asked.

Ricky looked at the photos and shook his head. "Never saw them in my life."

"Really? We're about to prove him wrong, aren't we?" Flack looked over at Danny and arched his eyebrows.

Danny knew it was his cue. "Let me refresh your memory then," he told Ricky. He opened the folder and took out a picture they had printed from the security camera footage.

"What?" Ricky eyed it suspiciously.

Danny held it up for Ricky to see. "See this person here? That's you with your ponytail and leather jacket. As you can see, this picture shows you with someone. See that person sitting at the same table as you? Oh look, that's Nick. The two of you are having a cup of coffee together. Now isn't that sweet?"

Ricky brushed the photo aside. "This pic is so blurry, you can't even see their faces. If you think this is going to proof that I'm there, then you're bonkers."

"Perhaps," Danny shrugged. "But you see, the manager remembers you." It was a lie of course but Danny hoped Ricky did not know that. From the sudden stiffness in Ricky's posture, Danny could tell that his bluff was working. He decided to push a little more. "We also have a couple of witnesses who saw you calling on Tim at his apartment."

Ricky ran his tongue over his lips and remained silent. Danny could see the wheels turning in Ricky's head, weighing the pros and cons of telling the truth. Finally he said, "Yeah okay, so I know them. So what? Ain't no crime in making friends."

"Seems you're not too careful in choosing your friends, Ricky. Both of your friends are working together to manufacture heroin. One is now dead while the other is under arrest," Flack replied.

"Hey, I know them but it doesn't mean anything. Knowing them doesn't mean that I am involved in what they are doing," Ricky replied. He crossed his arms and looked stonily at both Flack and Danny.

"Come on, Ricky," Flack cajoled. "You're busted twice for selling drugs. Do you expect me to believe that it's a coincidence that you know Tim and Nick?"

"Maybe that's just what it is, a coincidence. Maybe you're just thinking too much about things. It can drive a man crazy, you know," Ricky tapped his index finger against the side of his head as he looked pointedly at Flack.

Flack wasn't affected by what Ricky said. He had dealt with too many criminals in the course of his career to get upset over mere words. "Here's what I think, Ricky. The three of you - Tim, Nick, Ricky - are involved in a drug scam. Tim grows the plants, Nick makes the drugs and you sells them. A profitable business for the three of you. Then something went wrong. Nick told you about it and you get really pissed off at Tim. So you went up to his apartment and beat him to death." Flack smiled.

Danny took out another photo from his folder. It was a close-up photo of a big patch of blue, black and purple. "Know what this is?"

"I don't know. Some kind of modern art?" Ricky replied.

"It's the bruises we found on Tim's body. You know what's interesting here? See this marking? It's an indentation made by an object the killer was wearing when he beat up Tim. Show me your hands."

"No."

Ricky tried to stuff his hands into his pocket but Flack was quicker. In a flash, he reached across the table and grabbed Ricky's wrists, pinning his hands to the table top. Danny placed the photo next to Ricky's right hand. A ring in the shape of a skull matches the markings.

Flack smiled, "We have a perfect match."

Ricky's face whitened visibly.

Flack stood up. "Ricky Garcia, you're under arrest for first degree mur-"

"Wait!" Ricky banged on the table. "I didn't kill Tim! You can't pin this on me!"

Danny replied, "Give it up, Ricky. We have proof that you beat Tim Higgins up."

"Right! So I did! I beat Tim up, but that's all I did. I didn't kill Tim, just rough him up a little. I swear that Tim was still alive when I left his place." Ricky looked anxiously at them.

Flack gave a sigh. "Alright, tell us what happened, and don't try to bullshit us. We'll know if you're lying."

So Ricky told them what happened, starting with how they met. Ricky bumped into Nick at a bar. After finding out that Nick had recently lost his job as a chemist, it was easy to persuade the penniless and debt-ridden Nick to help Ricky manufacture some drugs to sell. After getting a taste of easy profits, Nick began to think about increasing the output and roped in an old buddy, Tim, to help grow more poppies for harvesting. At first Ricky was wary about adding a new member as he knew from experience that more mouths meant more talk. But Nick assured him that Tim was tight-lipped guy.

For a while, things were going well and Ricky didn't complain as he had a steady supply of heroin to sell. Then one day, he received a call from Nick who was too worked-up to talk over the phone so Ricky arranged to meet Nick over coffee to find out what happened. Nick told him that Tim had managed to repay all his debts and now wanted out from the drug business. Seeing that his production line was in trouble, Ricky decided to pay Tim a call and persuade him that it would be in his best interest to stay.

"Killing him sure is a strange way to persuade him," Flack commented.

Ricky protested, "I didn't kill him! I only roughed him up a little. What good would it do if I killed him?"

"Okay, what about Johnny Dobrev?" Danny asked, holding up a photo of the dead man.

"What? Who? I've never seen him before."

"Come on, Ricky, tell the truth. Did you kill him because he found out about your secret?" Flack probed.

"I don't know who this guy this. It's the truth. I'll admit to beating Tim up but I didn't do anything to him." Ricky tapped Johnny's photo.

Flack and Danny exchanged a look and both of them stood up to leave. "Alright, interview's over," Flack said.

Ricky sprang up. "Hey, you can't just pin those deaths on me! I'm innocent!"

Flack replied as he walked through the door, "You better hope you are."

As Danny shut the door behind him, he noticed that his boss was standing outside the interview room, looking through the one-way window at Ricky.

"Looks like Ricky insisted that he didn't kill our vic," Mac commented.

Danny sighed. "Yeah, he's sticking by it. He sounds pretty insistent. I almost believed him."

Flack laughed. "Danno, you must be losing your touch if you actually think he is innocent."

Mac smiled empathically. "I had a talk with Sid before I came here," he said.

"Oh, about what?" Danny wondered. He knew that Sid had already determined the cause of death as as result of intra-cranium bleeding. He wondered if Sid had discovered something else which caused the victim's death. But it was rare for the meticulous coroner to make a mistake. Of course there could be nothing in it as Mac and Sid were good friends and they often chatted with each other over other matters besides work. But then again, Mac won't have mentioned it if it wasn't relevant to the case.

"Sid was puzzled about the intra-cranium bleeding. It caused the vic's death but Sid wasn't able to determine what exactly had caused the bleeding in the first place. After talking to several medical experts, Sid was able to determined that the hemorrhaging was caused by a pre-existing genetic defect of the artery," Mac replied.

"What does that mean?" Flack asked.

"It means that given our vic's condition, the bleeding could be caused by anything that stressed the artery, even a cough or a sneeze. Basically our guy was a walking time bomb."

"Woah, so you're saying that Ricky didn't kill our vic?" Flack asked.

"No, I'm saying that Ricky didn't intend to kill our vic. He just wanted to beat him up. The injuries were non-fatal. All were inflicted for pain, not for death. For all we know, his punches might have triggered the bleeding, or it might be something else. There's no way to tell for certain." Mac studied Ricky through the one-way window. "A good defense attorney might just be able to get him off on manslaughter," he mused. 


	13. Chapter 13

_Author notes: I'm sorry this update took so long. I hit a writer's block after the previous chapter and it took me a while to figure out how to continue with the story. Thanks for waiting!_

_

* * *

_

The elevator stopped with a beep. The stainless steel metal doors opened and the unmistakable smell whiffed into the elevator, greeting Danny as it greeted all visitors to this level. Danny stepped out of the elevator and walked towards his destination. His footsteps echoing softly on the spotless linoleum floor of the corridor. Despite the mixture of piney detergent scent and chemicals that hung heavily in the air, it could not quite disguise the underlying scent of death that permeated the whole floor. As Danny walked through the level that formed the premises for the morgue, he thought back to what Mac said.

"Treat Johnny's murder as a separate case," Mac had told him.

Even though Danny was sure that Ricky was connected in some way to Johnny Dobrev's death, he knew that Mac had made the right call. A wry smile played on Danny's lips. Cases were not solved by hunches but by hard evidence. Of the latter, they had none. It would be suicidal to charge Ricky in court.

Danny stopped in front of a pair of metal double doors. He pushed them opened and walked into the autopsy room. Sid was inside, bending over a dead body. The coroner's was elbow-deep in the deceased's chest cavity. As Danny watched, Sid lifted the heart and placed it gently onto a metal dish.

"Hey Sid," Danny greeted the coroner. "I've heard you're done with Johnny Dobrev?"

"Oh yes," Sid peered at Danny over the tops of his glasses. He peeled off his bloody gloves and led Danny to one of the covered metal tables lined up neatly in the room. Then Sid gently removed the white cloth covering the body.

Danny caught sight of Johnny's face. Johnny's eyes were closed and despite the greyish complexion, he looked as if he was merely asleep. "What have we got?" he asked.

Sid showed Danny the stab wounds on Johnny's body. "Our vic was surprised by as attack from the back. Our killer stabbed him a couple of times before he managed to turn around and defend himself. See the defensive wounds on his hands? There were a lot of stab wounds at the front too."

"So the killer kept on stabbing despite the vic's attempts to fight him off?" Danny asked.

"Yes. The wounds all occurred within seconds of each other so the killer's actions were fast. Most of the stab wounds were not very deep. For a normal male of his age and shape, the stabbing would cause somewhat serious injuries but nothing that would quite lead to death. However as our vic had long history of alcohol abuse, the clotting mechanism of his blood was impaired."

Danny looked at Sid, "You mean?"

"Yes, death was due to exsanguination."

Danny tried to picture the scene in his head. Johnny would have flung his arms up to block the blows. Stabbings were always messy and Johnny's attempts to defend himself would have caused the blood to spattered in all directions. He realized that the killer must have gotten blood on himself. He made a mental note to analyze Ricky's clothes for blood.

Danny noticed that Sid was looking at him expectantly. From experience, he knew that Sid always kept something up his sleeve. "Okay Sid, what else did you find out?"

Sid smiled. "I would hazard a guess that our vic was a pretty happy man an hour before the stabbing."

Danny arched his eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

"I found vaginal fluids on his genitals," Sid replied.

Danny looked at Sid to see if the coroner was pulling his leg, but Sid was serious. Danny tried to wrap his head around the new information. "You mean our vic had sex an hour before he was killed?"

"Yes, that's the logical conclusion." Sid agreed.

"He's not anywhere near his home so he must be with someone else," Danny said. He looked down at Johnny's face and felt the flames of a slow anger burning inside him. Even up til his death, Johnny was cheating on his wife. That act of betrayal removed any pity Danny felt towards Johnny's untimely death. He shook his head, wondering how Jacqueline would react to the news. The thought of her caused a dull pain in his chest. He thought of their last meeting, of her sad tear-filled eyes and the sounds of her fading footsteps as she walked away. What was that she said when they last met? That she couldn't make his wife suffer the same fate as her.

Suddenly Danny realized how Jacqueline must have saw him. A man who cheated on his wife, a man very much like her husband. The revelation shocked him and he reached for the edge of the table to steady himself. The feel of the cold hard metal brought him back to his senses. He had no right to condemn Johnny. No when he had committed that same sin as him. Danny shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.

"I've got to inform Mac about this," he said as he excused himself.

Danny left the morgue like a man in a dream. He walked back to the lab lost in his own thoughts. He did not see Lindsay waved to him as he walked past her lab. He did not see Adam attempting to moonwalk to music from his headphones. He did not see Stella and Mac discussing a case in the office. He was blind and deaf to everything until he felt a tap on his shoulder. Danny turned and saw Flack.

"Hey Danno, whacha thinking about?" Flack asked.

"Oh sorry, I was thinking about the case," Danny replied. He gave a smile, hoping that Flack would not suspect anything.

It seemed to work. Flack's attention immediately turned to the case. He asked Danny if he had any new information about the case. Danny told him about his trip to the morgue and the information that Johnny was with a woman just an hour before his death.

"Any idea who?" Flack asked.

Danny shrugged. "All I know is that she's a female. Sid had passed a sample to Lindsay for analysis. I'll let you know as soon as we get a hit."

"Alright. Looks like I've have to do some footwork and see if anyone in the neighborhood had witnessed anything."

"If we're lucky, someone might have spotted Ricky killing him," Danny said.

"You still think that Ricky did this?" Flack asked.

"I have a hunch that he's mixed up in this somehow. I just don't know how."

Flack tried to hide a smile. He knew all about Danny's hunches. He had worked with Danny long enough to know that Danny usually had a hunch about every case. The problem was, his hunches were seldom accurate. Flack didn't think this time would be any different but he only said, "Okay, see you later."

After Flack left, Danny went to work on Ricky's black leather jacket. Ricky wore that leather jacket everyday, Danny felt that it offered the best chances of finding any trace of Johnny's blood that spattered during the stabbing. He sprayed the jacket with luminal and then carefully went over every inch of it with a special light that will cause the blood to glow. An hour later, he put down the light in disappointment. There was not even a single drop of blood on the jacket. Of course that doesn't mean Ricky is innocent, Danny comforted himself. He will go through every piece of Ricky's clothing if he had to, he decided.


	14. Bar night

_Author notes: I don't watch hockey so I'm not sure if the terms used to describe the game are correct. Updates will probably take a while because I am facing some difficulty in putting my thoughts into words about what will happen to Danny from this point onwards. But rest assured that I will complete this story, and that's a promise! :)_

* * *

It was rowdy in the pub and the noise level was deafening. Most of the guys were cursing or shouting words of encouragement. All the customers in the pub had their eyes glued to the TV screen which was showing a live match from the NHL. There were only a few seconds left and the Toronto Maple Leafs were leading by one goal. Everyone watched with bated breath as a Rangers player rushed towards the net, trying to score a late goal. He swung his hockey stick and the puck spun wildly towards the net. But it was no use! The goaltender successfully blocked the shot just before the timer sounded. There was a collective groan from the crowd.

Now that the match was over, Flack turned back to his beer which was in danger of going flat and took a swig. He glanced lazily across the room and noticed that Danny had entered the pub. Flack raised his arm and waved. Danny made his way across the crowded room and joined Flack at the bar.

"Match over?" Danny asked, his eyes glancing at the TV screen which was now showing a commercial about washing detergent.

"Just," Flack replied. "Have a drink?"

"Sure," Danny replied stoically. He signaled to the bartender for a glass of beer. When the beer came, they tapped the rim of the glasses together. Flack took a mouthful but Danny continued drinking until the glass was empty. Then he signaled to the bartender for another one.

"Thirsty?" Flack asked.

"Long day," Danny replied. He cradled the full glass of beer in his hand and started drinking again, this time at a slower pace.

They sat for a while in comfortable silence, watching the sitcom that was currently playing on TV. Someone had turned the volume down so all they saw were mouths opening and closing in wordless conversation. Every few minutes, Danny would raise his glass and take another long swallow. When the the glass was dry, Danny got another refill. Flack looked over at Danny who was peering into his beer. He had known Danny long enough to know when was something troubling his friend.

"What's troubling you, Danno?" Flack asked.

Danny was surprised. "Huh? It's that obvious?" He look down and gave a wry smile. Shaking his head, he replied, "It's nothing, really."

Flack wasn't going to let it rest. It was part of his nature and it was also the reason why he made a such a good detective. Flack won't let go until he had an answer. Besides, he had an idea what was troubling Danny. "Was it about the case?" he asked.

"I guess you could say that," Danny replied, the side of his mouth twisted upwards into a crooked smile. He had finished his third glass and the bartender placed a refill on the table. Danny gazed into the glass of beer and thought about how much it looked like the color of liquid gold. _Liquid gold._ That phrase seemed to evoke a memory in his groggy brain. Danny tried to focus through layers of beer-induced haze.

Then his breath caught in his throat. In his mind's eye, he saw a silhouette against an open window. Sunlight, long blond hair and a pair of angry eyes staring back at him. Even at the first meeting, Danny had felt an attraction he could not explain. Just as now he was unable to resist the allure of her pulling at him. Danny wondered how much would he have to drink to forget everything.

Flack was saying something. Danny tried to focus on the words. "We will get him," Flack said. "Don't worry, we will get the culprit who killed Johnny Dobrev."

"Sure we will," Danny smiled but at the moment, he did not care if they arrested the killer today or tomorrow or even ever. He was preoccupied with his own misery.

Flack shifted to a more conversational tone. "Did I tell you that I went to Mrs Dobrev and broke the news to her?"

Danny's hand tightened on the glass. "How did she react?" he asked.

Something in Danny's voice caused Flack to turned his head sharply and looked at his friend. Danny was looking at the TV and seemed fully engrossed in the sitcom showing on the screen.

"Mrs Dobrev was shocked of course. She was so used to the police knocking on her door about the troubles that her husband got into, it took a while to sink in that I wasn't there about another bar fight but his death," Flack answered.

"Think she will be okay?" Danny asked.

There it was again. A subtle emotion underlying those words. Flack glanced at his friend but Danny's eyes were still glued to the TV screen. Flack shrugged, thinking that he must be mistaken.

"Mrs Dobrev was shocked but I think she had gotten used to the idea that her husband won't be coming home a long time ago. She'll be fine," Flack replied.

"That's good to know," Danny replied. He tipped the rest of the contents of the glass inside his mouth and got off the bar stool. He stumbled a bit when his feet touched the floor but he held on to the bar counter and quickly regained his balance.

"Are you alright? You knocked back those glasses pretty fast. Maybe I should see you home," Flack was worried.

Danny waved him off. "Nah, I'll be fine. Just need to get my land legs back. See you." In a drunken stupor, Danny moved towards the exit. Once outside, he leaned against the side of the building for a while before deciding that he wasn't up to taking the subway in his state. So he got into a cab and managed to recited an address to the cab driver. Then he closed his eyes and fell into a dreamless sleep in the backseat of the cab. It felt as if he had only closed his eyes for a second before the cab driver woke him up. They had reached his destination.

Danny handed some money to the driver and stumbled out of the cab. He managed to make it to the door of his apartment. Danny fumbled in his pocket and took out the key to the door. He tried to insert the key but his shaking hand kept missing the keyhole. After numerous tries, Danny gave up in frustration and banged on the door.

"Lindsay, open the door," he called.

After some time, the door opened and Danny found himself face to face with Jacqueline. He started at her in shock. Then he started to notice that the carpeting was different and the walls were painted a different color. It wasn't his apartment building and he wasn't standing in front of his door. Suddenly he realized that in his drunken state, he must had given the cab driver Jacqueline's address instead of his home. Danny kept staring at Jacqueline, not knowing what to say.

Jacqueline was the one who broke the silence. "What are you doing here, Danny?" she asked. It was obvious that she had been crying.

It pained Danny to see her in such a state. Without thinking, he reached out to wipe the tear stains from her face. Jacqueline quickly backed away from his hand as if it was a dangerous object.

"No," Jacqueline shook her head. Her voice broke from the pain that twisted inside her heart. "Go away, Danny," she said and quickly closed the door as if she was afraid that he would try to stop her.

"Jacqueline." Danny rested his forehead against the closed door and closed his eyes, trying to sense her presence on the other side. He slowly slide to the ground. He thought he would get over Jacqueline and go on with his life and continue to be a good husband and father. He was wrong. Seeing Jacqueline in flesh and blood standing before him was more than he could bear. He buried his head in his arms and cried.

He did not know that on the other side of the door, Jacqueline was in sitting in the same position as him. They were back-to-back, separated by a piece of wood. Jacqueline had leaned back against the door. The flood gates opened and tears flowed. She wept for poor Johnny who lost his purpose a long time ago and next lost his life. For the love that was destined for broken hearts and ended before it could even began. For the man who stepped into her life and her heart but who was now separated by an uncrossable chasm.

Danny had no recollection of how he got home that night. Yet somehow he did.

Lindsay was tucking in Lucy when she heard a knock on the door. She opened the door and Danny fell inwards, landing into a heap at Lindsay's feet. Looking down at Danny, Lindsay realized that her husband was drunk. She quickly helped Danny up. Half-supporting and half-carrying him, Lindsay brought him to the bedroom and got him onto the bed. Danny smelled strongly of beer. Lindsay was glad that Lucy was asleep and would not witness all this lest it should have an impact on her. As Lindsay went to the bathroom to get a damp cloth to wipe Danny down, she made a mental note to speak to Danny the next morning about him going for drinks after work.

It was understandable that Lindsay wanted everything to be perfect for her first child. She tried to provide Lucy with the best whenever possible. She read many books on bringing up a child and resolved to be the best mother a child could ask for. Danny, on the other hand, had a somewhat casual attitude to Lucy's upbringing. He would agree to read the books that Lindsay passed him but she knew they laid untouched on the coffee table. He would agree that they need to maintain a healthy diet for Lucy but the next minute, he would be giving her sweet treats. It had caused her much frustration. Lindsay sighed. She was sure that Danny would once again be unhappy about her suggestions, like the way he was unhappy when she wanted him to stop saying "Boom" or to stop going out with the boys and spend more time at home.

Lindsay came back to bedroom and found Danny fast asleep. He did not wake up when Lindsay undressed him and wiped him face and body. Suddenly overcame by a feeling of exhaustion, Lindsay laid down beside Danny and closed her eyes.


	15. Now Another Knows

Danny woke up the next morning with a headache. He continued lying in bed and kept his eyes closed, hoping that it would make the pain go away. He could hear Lindsay moving around the house as she prepared breakfast for Lucy. When the pounding in his head subsided a little, Danny opened his eyes and looked up at white ceiling of his beom. He continued staring at it for a few minutes before he reluctantly sat up.

Danny could hear Lindsay talking to Lucy as she fed their daughter. He pushed himself off the bed and staggered to the bathroom. He let the cold water washed over him and swept away the headache. Danny stepped out of the shower feeling refreshed and ready to face the day. Or Lindsay. Danny's face contorted into a grimace as he thought of his wife. He knew that she would not be happy about him coming home drunk the last night even though the last time he was so drunk was years ago. He did not relish the speech he was sure Lindsay would give him. Almost at once, rebellious feelings rose up inside him. As Danny put on his clothes, he thought about his line of argument. Yes, he would insist on his right. Yes, he would stand firm. He had given in to Lindsay's demands too many times. With his mind made up, Danny walked into the kitchen.

Lindsay was cleaning up at the sink when Danny walked in. Lucy gargled in delight when she saw her father.

"Good morning, Princess," Danny greeted her. He bent down and kiss her on her cheek. His stubble tickled her and she laughed loudly. Danny took her hand and rubbed it lightly over his chin, resulting in more laughter from his daughter. While playing with Lucy, he stole a glance at his wife. She was standing with her back facing him. Even though he couldn't see her face, he knew from her rigid posture that she was unhappy with him. Danny sighed. He walked over to her side and tried to put on an air of casual nonchalance.

"Good morning," he said.

"Your breakfast is on table," Lindsay replied as she briskly shook the water off the utensils and stacked them on the counter top to dry. Without looking at her husband, Lindsay walked back to Lucy. She grabbed her handbag and bent down to carry Lucy. "I'm bringing Lucy to her nanny," she announced as she walked out of the kitchen.

Minutes later, there was the unmistakeable sound of the front door slamming shut. They were gone. Sighing loudly, Danny sat down at the table and ate his breakfast. Then he washed up before he too left for work.

As usual, the lab was busy and no one took notice when Danny exited the elevator. He walked along the corridor to his lab. The corridor was lined with floor-to-ceiling glass walls so he could look into the labs where his colleagues were busy at at work. There was no sight of Lindsay. She must be out with Stella on a case, Danny thought. Mac was also nowhere to be seen but Mac was usually out somewhere, either supervising or investigating cases that came through the lab, so Danny did not think much of it until later in the day.

Around lunch time, Adam popped his head into the lab where Danny was working and asked if he wanted to grab a bite. As they headed out for lunch, Danny spotted Lindsay talking to Stella. He raised his hand in a wave but they were so engrossed in the conversation that they did not notice him.

"Lindsay giving you the cold shoulder?" Adam chuckled.

"Since when are you an expert on my love life?" Danny grumbled as he lightly shoved Adam down the corridor.

It was over baloney sandwiches when Danny first learn about the reason for Mac's nonappearance at the lab. Adam was saying something to Danny. However, stuffing his mouth full of food was not the best way to make himself understood.

"I can't understand what you're saying. Didn't your mother told you not to speak with your mouth full?" Danny said in frustration.

Adam swallowed his food. "Sorry, I was just wondering if Mac had finished questioning the suspect."

"What suspect?"

"Oh, you didn't know?" Adam looked surprised. "Mac and Flack brought in a suspect for Johnny Dobrev's murder. That's why he wasn't in his office this morning."

"I wondered about his absence," Danny said, scratching his chin. "Who is he?"

"She."

"She?" Danny was confused.

Adam nodded. "His wife."

Danny sat up so suddenly that he almost tipped the table over.

Adam grabbed the edges of the table and managed to steady it. "Woah, easy man. What has gotten into you?"

"Sorry." Danny took several deep breaths and tried to calm himself down. Adam was looking at him with concern. Danny forced himself to smile. "I'm okay, just surprised that's all. I didn't expect it to be her."

"Yeah, neither did I. But we did find blond hair on his clothes and those scrapings from under the vic's fingernails came back to a XX, meaning that whoever is Johnny's attacker, it is a woman." Adam took a big bite of his sandwich. "Who would have thought the wife did it?" he said. Or that's what he meant to say. It came out as "Oowooee hadoot dor waif dueee."

Danny pushed his half-eaten sandwich away. He had lost his appetite. He worried about Jacqueline as he waited impatiently for Adam to finish his lunch. He had seen seen Mac during interrogations and hoped that his boss would go easy on her.

"You want that?" Adam's voice broke into his thoughts.

"Huh?"

Adam pointed at Danny's half-eaten sandwich. "Do you still want that?"

"No, take it." As Danny watched Adam attacked the sandwich, he couldn't help asking, "What happened to your diet?"

"I've gave up. It was a mistake to tell Kendall that I want to lose my baby fat because she started eating snacks in front of me. It was pure torture." Adam gave an exaggerated sigh.

Danny tried to wait patiently for Adam to finish eating, but Adam was enjoying himself and was in no hurry to get back to work. Finally Danny gave Adam a flimsy excuse about needing to ran some errands and quickly left the deli. He hurried over to the precinct. As it was lunchtime, most the detectives were out for lunch, even the telephones on the desks had stopped ringing for once. It was a pretty peaceful scene for a Homicide Division. He found Flack sitting at his desk.

Flack's face lit up when he saw Danny. "Hey Danno," he greeted.

"I need to talk to you, Flack." Danny glanced around the room. The nearest detective was sitting two desks away and he seemed to be more interested in his lunch than two men in a conversation. But Danny felt safer if they were alone. He added, "Privately."

Flack's eyebrows went up but he only said, "Follow me." He found a empty interview room and shut the door so that nobody would overhear them. Flack leaned back casually against the wall.

"Alright, Danno, what's with the big secrecy?"

Danny cut to the chase. "I heard you called Mrs Dobrev in for questioning?"

Flack nodded. "So you heard about it? Mac and I did the interview. I was planning to inform you after lunch."

Danny swallowed. "Is she a suspect?"

"At the moment we don't have any hard evidence against her. We just asked her in to clear up a few questions in the case."

"Don't give me that PR line, Don. There's nobody here but us. Tell me, do you suspect her?"

Flack signed. "She's our only suspect right now. Right now all the evidence we have seems to point to her."

"Well she didn't do it. Jacqueline isn't that kind of person," Danny retorted.

Flack's eyebrows went up. "So it's Jacqueline now, is it? Well, since you were so sure that..." Flack paused and said with a smirk, "...that _Jacqueline_ isn't the murderer, perhaps you can tell me who is? 'Cause right now we're out of suspects."

Danny glared. "Look, I don't know who is the murderer but I know it's not her."

"How can you be so sure?" Flack argued. "Right now we have _nothing_ that even hints of the possibility that it could be someone else."

"If you knew her, you would know that she couldn't have done it."

"And you know her?" Flack arched an eyebrow. "Look, I'll be happy to exclude her as a suspect but I need proof. She can't even give me an alibi for the time her husband was murdered."

Danny looked at Flack strangely. It was so quiet inside the room that Flack was starting to get a humming sound inside his ears. Finally Danny asked, "She has no alibi?"

"When we asked her, she said she was home alone. You know as well as me that we can't accept it as valid if there is no witness." Flack wondered where this conversation was heading. He was having a forboding sense that something was going on and he wasn't sure that he would like it.

Danny sat down in one of the chairs and ran his hands over his face. Then he seemed to made up his mind and looked straight at Flack as he said, "She has an alibi. I was with her the whole night."

"What?" Flack exploded. He stared at Danny for a long time, not knowing quite what to say. For once, the homicide detective was at a loss for words. He shook his head in disbelief and paced restlessly up and down the room. A lot of questions were flying around in his mind and finally he picked that one that was the safest.

He asked, "How long were you with her?"

"I was at her apartment a little after ten and I stayed until Mac called me at four the next morning," Danny immediately replied.

Flack nodded, his mind automatically processing the information as he continued pacing. Sid had given the time of death as somewhere between midnight to four so it clearly ruled Mrs Dobrev out. He would need to double check to make sure but he had no doubt that Danny was telling the truth. He glanced at Danny. "Why were you there?" he asked.

Danny's face colored. "I wanted to make sure that she was alright. You know what Johnny is like."

"And you stayed there the whole night? Come on, Danny, I'm not a three year old kid who still believes in Santa Claus. What are you not telling me?"

"I just wanted to make sure that she's safe."

Again Flack caught a familiar undertone, the same emotion he heard in the bar yesterday night. He looked at Danny's flushed face and immediately understood. It was as if suddenly all the pieces of jigsaw had assembled themselves into a complete picture. He said, "You're in love with her, aren't you?"

Almost hesitantly, Danny nodded.

"Are you crazy?" Flack yelled. "You're married and you have an affair with a woman whom you knew for barely a week? What about Lindsay? What about Lucy? How could you still face them?"

"Please, Don," Danny pleaded. "It didn't happen the way you think. I can't explain it but even in the first meeting, I could feel a connection. It was like we were meant to be together."

"What about Lindsay? Did you feel a connection when you met her for the first time? Or do you use that line with every girl?" Flack asked angrily.

"It wasn't like that!" Danny shouted. He hit the table in frustration. "Don't you understand? I didn't planned for this. It just happened. Yes, I love Lindsay and Lucy and I still do. But this is different. This is beyond that. And if you need to hear it, then hear me say this: I love Jacqueline. I love her more than anything else. She completes me."

Flack glared Danny. He was friends with the couple, having worked with them on many cases. He knew that he should stay out of their personal problems but at the same time he was not about to stand by and see Lindsay get hurt. He replied angrily, "This woman got you under her spell. I won't stand around and watch your marriage head for the rocks."

Flack moved towards the door but Danny quickly grabbed him. "Where are you going?" Danny asked.

"I'm going to put a stop to this. I'll make sure she understands that she has to stay away from you." Flack was determined.

Danny burst out in bitter laughter, surprising Flack. "You're too late," Danny said. Then he told Flack that Jacqueline had broke up with him after discovering that he was married. By the time Danny finished, Flack had calmed down. There was silence in the room as the two men pondered over the situation.

"You've got to tell Mac, you know that," Flack said.

"I know," Danny mumbled, clearly apprehensive at what was waiting for him in the future.

Flack didn't blame him. He would rather face a starving lion barehanded than to take on an angry Mac. Another thought crossed his mind. "Does Lindsay know?" he asked.

"No," Danny frowned. He answered slowly. "No, I don't think she knows anything. But she will know soon, wouldn't she?" Danny gave Flack a pained smile. "I have to let her know before she hears it from Mac. I owe her that."

Flack felt sorry for Danny. No doubt Danny had no one but himself to blame for his current predicament but Flack knew Danny was not the type to shy away from doing the right thing, no matter how unpleasant it was. He sympathetically patted Danny on the shoulder. "It'll be alright eventually," Flack said but his words sounded hollow to his ears. He said that to cheer Danny up but Flack knew that it will be a long time before life will be back to normal for his friend.

Danny stood up. "Well, I guess I should go and see Mac now."

As Flack watched Danny leave the station, he wondered if things will ever be the same again.


	16. Mac's Office

_Author notes: I guess I just miss Stella. There's a small part that hinted at what happened months after the opening of Season 6. I like happy endings :)_

* * *

Danny swallowed. Through the glass, he could see Mac sitting at his table and going through some case files. Gathering all his courage, he knocked on the door to Mac's office. Mac looked up, his brows were knitted together at the interruption.

"What is it, Danny?" he asked.

Danny's mouth suddenly went dry and he swallowed again. "Er, Mac, there is something you should know."

Mac looked at the nervous young man standing in front of his desk. Instinctively he knew that he would not like Danny wanted to tell him. He closed the file and pushed it away.

"Sit down, Danny," Mac said.

"Um," Danny sat down and fidgeted in his seat. He felt so guilty that he could hardly look Mac in the eye. "Remember Johnny Dobrev?"

"Yes. What is it about?"

"Well, before Johnny was murdered, Flack and I went to talk to him about his connection to Tim Higgins' murder."

"Yes, I remember reading the report," Mac nodded.

"Yeah, well, I met Mrs Dobrev in the process of looking for Johnny Dobrev. And er, well, I was with her when Johnny was murdered," Danny confessed.

Mac stared. He did not expect this to come from Danny. Mac quickly put the pieces together in his mind. He remembered the time of Johnny Dobrev's death and understood what Danny wanted to tell him. For the first few moments, Mac was filled with anger. He knew the couple well, having recruited both of them personally. He was fond of Lindsay and felt angry on her behalf. For a man who still loved his wife dearly ten years after her death, it was impossible for Mac to even start to comprehend why Danny would cheat on his wife.

Mac glared angrily while Danny sat nervously in the chair with his head low, almost as if in anticipation for the scolding that Mac would give him. Seeing Danny reminded Mac of something and with great restraint, Mac controlled his anger.

"You are off the case immediately. Sheldon will take over your work on this investigation. Meanwhile, you should take some time off until this is over," said Mac.

Danny nodded his head. He had expected nothing less than this. If the defence found out about his relationship with Jacqueline, they would claim that the evidence was contaminated. Mac would never let that happen.

Mac continued talking in an even tone, "Danny, I know this is a personal matter between you and Lindsay but as a friend, I advise you to end this affair before it develops any further. You have a loving family, don't take them for granted."

"Don't worry, Mac. It's over." Danny gave a bitter laugh as he stood up.

"That's good to hear. If you need help..." Mac offered.

"Thanks," Danny replied as he left Mac's office. Mac watched him for a few moments, frowning in worry before turning his attention back to the pile of files on his desk.

Half an hour later, Stella entered his office. "Mac?"

"Yes?" Mac looked up.

"I saw Danny and Lindsay talking in the locker room. They kept their voices low but I could tell they were arguing. Lindsay looked very upset. Do you know what's going on?"

Mac sighed. He closed the file he was holding in his hand. "It's Danny but there is nothing we can do," he began. Mac knew that he could trust Stella to keep this to herself so he told her everything that had transpired between the two men earlier.

When he finished speaking, Stella muttered a swear word in Greek and sat down. After a few minutes of silence, she looked at Mac. "You're right. There's nothing either of us can do. Danny and Lindsay have to sort this out between themselves."

"Right," Mac nodded.

Stella tilted her head and looked at Mac sitting behind his table, his eyebrows fiercely knitted together as he thought about Danny. After years of working together, she knew him well enough to know what he was thinking.

"Mac."

"Hmm, yes?" Mac roused himself from his thoughts and focused his attention on Stella.

"I know you are angry with Danny but he's not a kid anymore. He doesn't need us to interfere in his personal problems. Sure, he made a mistake but he had to face the consequences by himself. Nobody can do this for him," Stella said.

"I know. It's just that I don't understand," Mac was frustrated. "Stella, you and I, we were there, we saw how it started, how it developed. We know they love each other."

"Yes, they do," Stella agreed.

"Then why? Why would Danny do such a thing when he loves Lindsay?"

Stella pondered. It was no surprise to her that Mac did not understand how a moment's folly could lead to a lifetime of regret. It would be hard to explain it to Mac who had remained steadfastly faithful to his late wife. Years ago, she finally managed to get Mac to remove his wedding ring from his finger. By then, it had been four years since Claire's death. Stella knew that Mac threw away everything that belonged to his wife after her death because they brought back memories too painful to bear. Even the photograph of Claire was gone from his table. Today in its place, Stella saw Mac's wedding ring. He had removed it from his finger but he still kept it close by, unwilling to let go of the bond that tied Claire and him together. Stella glanced thoughtfully at the ring.

"Sometimes we hurt the people we care about," Stella said softly. "Sometimes all it takes is a minute of weakness. We are not infallible, we are only human. Not all of us are Super Mac," she smiled, referring to an old joke.

Mac smiled even though his eyes remained serious. He knew this was Stella's way of reminding him that his standards were too high and not everybody could live up to them.

Stella stood up. "Well, I'd better go and see whether Adam can give me any results about the unknown substance we found on the victim's clothing," she commented in an offhand matter.

"The Patterson case?" Mac asked.

Stella nodded. "Hopefully Adam can determine what substance it is. It could help us to solve the case. I just passed him a sample ten minutes ago."

"Ten minutes?" Mac laughed. "Stella, I know Adam is our best lab technician but even he can't work miracles."

Stella's eyes sparkled mischievously as she replied, "Maybe he can, with a little bit of motivation."

Mac watched Stella walked away with a little smile on her lips. He was not the only one who noticed that Stella and Adam had grown closer over the past months. Last week, he passed by one of the labs and was surprised to see Adam and Stella laughing over a private joke. There was something in the way they stand, the way that they looked at each other that made Mac wondered if... Mac shook his head bemusedly. _Stella and Adam? It was unlikely but..._ Mac shook his head again. With an amused expression on his face, Mac continued clearing the pile of files on his table.


End file.
